“Treat youth like youth” best describes the intent of the Raise the Age.

RTA has two broad missions:

• Handle most criminal cases of 16 and 17-year-olds in Family Court
• Improve delivery of support and rehabilitation services to youth and their families

RTA seeks to accomplish those missions by:

• Reducing detention and incarceration of youth
• Not detaining or incarcerating juveniles in the same facilities as adults
• Moving cases from Criminal Court to Family Court
• Bettering continuity of the legal process – what courts are assigned and revising procedures for both prosecutors and defense attorneys

Prior to the implementation of RTA, criminal responsibility began at age 16, and cases went to adult courts where proceedings were public.

RTA made the following changes:

• Effective October 2018 – 16-year-olds were no longer criminally responsible in most cases
• Effective October 2019 – 17-year-olds were no longer criminally responsible in most cases
• Issued specific directives to county Probation Departments on handling Juvenile Offenders and Adolescent Offenders
• Established a “Youth Part” of county superior courts statewide
• Made it possible for those who don’t re-offend for 10 years after serving a sentence to have previous convictions sealed. Individuals convicted of two or more felonies, a sex offense, a violent felony, or other serious felonies are not eligible.
• Creation of regional Children Detention Centers, run by The Monroe County of Children and Family Services opposed to county Sheriffs.

RTA also revised existing definitions of youth offenders, added a new “Adolescent Offender” category, and created “Youth Part” in county courts.

RTA created the Raise the Age Implementation Task Force, which issued its final report in March 2020 and requires the New York State Office of Children and Family Services to collect data on cases involving youth since the reforms took effect.

As with most well-intentioned legislation, unintended challenges accompanied the implementation of Raise the Age reforms.

The most visible and controversial results of RTA are increased crime and recidivism (repeat offenders) among youth. The Family Court system is designed to reduce and replace incarceration with both post and pre-trial services for defendants and their families intended to redirect juveniles away from committing crimes.

But kids are smart. Many figured out quickly that certain crimes that are considered non-violent (including illegal gun possession) would go to Family Court, where consequences like being jailed are often replaced with family services. As a result, RTA emboldens some juveniles, even when they’re caught. With no risk of detention, some return to the streets to re-offend.

Our Youth and Communities

In recent years, a concerning shift has emerged in our communities. Policies like Raise the Age—despite their intentions to protect young people—have inadvertently created conditions that embolden criminal behavior among teens and exploit them as pawns in more dangerous crimes. The tragic consequences are visible every day, from brazen shootings in broad daylight to the mounting number of teens caught in violent cycles. For another example, please see this Ernst St. Rochester, NY shots fired arrest news bulletin.

These incidents are not just statistics—they're lives cut short, dreams destroyed, and communities left grieving. Where is the public outcry for change?

Stolen Vehicles

Less immediate consequences or a timeout period produce repeat offenders who commit more crimes and hurt more victims. Spikes in violent crimes in 2023 (particularly those involving stolen vehicles in reckless driving, burglaries, robberies, carjackings, and serious car crashes) prompted public outcry for action. Rochester and Monroe County, unfortunately, gained national attention for leading the country with nearly 4,000 vehicles (reported) stolen.

While the number of reported stolen vehicles dropped in 2024, the severity of incidents increased. Law enforcement officers increasingly report teenagers purposely driving stolen cars directly at them to evade capture. There is increasing evidence of juvenile suspects coordinating with others in stolen cars to interfere in active police chases.

On August 22, 2024, a 17-year-old on parole for multiple burglaries was involved in gunplay and then led police on a chase in a stolen car that ultimately crashed and killed a 92-year-old WWII Army Veteran and retired music professor returning home from playing piano for residents at a nursing home.

RTA appropriately gives youth a second chance, particularly those in disproportionately underserved communities. None of us want a youth who makes a mistake to automatically go to jail. Through “diversion,” youth can, and often are, redirected away from crime.

Sadly, across New York State, prosecutors report the most challenging issue is guns – youth caught carrying illegal firearms typically transfer to Family Court. Even cases in which they threatened someone are often considered non-violent and removed from Criminal Court. District Attorneys point out that RTA downplays impacts on victims and ignores the reality that there remain dangerous youth for whom social interventions don’t work and incarceration is the only alternative. 

Raise the Age, in many ways, circumvents the judicial process. It endangers the public by returning violent offenders to the streets. It takes discretion away from judges and prosecutors – the very people elected and appointed to make decisions affecting our safety.

Cart Before the Horse on Housing

State-mandated programs always raise questions about how to fund legislated changes, and RTA is no different. The measure established a fund to help counties pay for RTA-related expenditures. Subsequent state budgets have added millions to it. However, localities must apply for the assistance and have complained reimbursements are slow to arrive.

RTA sparked a housing crisis at existing juvenile holding facilities in a system already lacking infrastructure and capacity to accommodate increased demand. The law was implemented without building the facilities to receive the offenders.

Unfortunately, offenders held in detention remain too many for an inadequately equipped juvenile corrections system. To find a secure facility, law enforcement officers are often forced to ferry youth around the state, sometimes hundreds of miles away from their families and counsel. Moreover, existing juvenile detention facilities continue to lack appropriate infrastructure and staff to keep those in custody safe. 

More recently, two such facilities in New York City were called into question by a report by the city government’s own watchdog agency.

"DOI’s investigation found that RTA and Bail Reform have fundamentally altered the juvenile detention population, rendering the existing disciplinary measures and institutional responses insufficient to deter misconduct, including acts of violence. This ineffectiveness is demonstrated by the high levels of youth-on-youth and youth-on-staff violence, security breaches, and recovery of contraband including weapons and cell phones." - City of New York Department of Investigation.

In addition, the MCSO has been asked on two occasions to take over the Monroe County Children’s Detention Center (CDC) to quell riotous situations. At one time the CDC held 30 offenders, 10 of which being charged with murder, in dormitory style housing.

Confusion

This is the current complex process that Police in New York State face when arresting juveniles. The law and all its subsequent adjustments has added to confusion in our systems and a culture of no accountability. The complexity and time commitment to make a juvenile arrest can easily deter LEOs to seek other avenues of service outside of arrest and justice. 

Workaround

Monroe County has pivoted (quite successfully) and confronted its juvenile repeat offender problem head-on with its innovative Juvenile Enhanced Diversion Stabilization (JEDS) program that allows for temporary detention in some cases. But “workarounds” to contend with problematic legislation is, at best, a temporary fix.

To implement JEDS police often have to under charge the accused. It also includes work of at least four other government agencies. But through the program we often get the juvenile temporarily detained in the CDC, thus giving them a timeout from their behaviors. And through “diversion,” youth can, and often are, directed towards services.

Statewide, District Attorneys complain that RTA reduces their ability to prosecute youth in criminal courts, moving most serious and even violent crimes to Family Court. Once a case goes to Family Court, even prosecutors (never mind victims) are not allowed to know what happens to the juvenile offender. Victims' rights advocates point out the decades-old practice of case privacy and added restrictions of RTA disregard and belittle crime victims.

Further, authors of RTA shied away from specifying what crimes are violent, according to prosecutors. RTA created undefined legal terms that leave both judges and prosecutors scratching their heads.

Moving forward, we call for clearer legislation, “clean law,” that allows for judges to detain repeat offenders and those deemed a danger to public safety, alongside the use of unbiased risk assessment tools to guide judicial decisions. Clean law will enable anyone to understand legal requirements. 

Common Sense Should Prevail

No child should languish behind bars for extended periods of time. None of us wishes a juvenile to age into an adult who lives a life of crime and incarceration. That does little for public safety.

Let’s not wait for more youth’s lives to be derailed or lost to misdirected leniency. Left unchecked, recklessness and the ignorance of youth perpetuate more criminal behavior and produce more victims.

Here is one example of an out-of-control teenager with no consequence.

Are we really doing our best by her, her family, of the community?

Definitions

As a result of Raise The Age reforms, existing definitions of youth offenders were revised and a new category was added to the law:

• Juvenile Delinquent
• Juvenile Offender
• Youthful Offender
• Adolescent Offender (NEW)
• Youth Part Court/Family Court
• Youth Part Criminal Court (NEW)

Adjustments

“Raise The LOWER Age” legislation passed in June 2022:

• Effective December 29, 2022 – the lowest age youth could be brought into the justice system was raised to 12 years old. It had previously been seven. This effectively ended the prosecution of youth as young as seven as Juvenile Delinquents
• Effective December 29, 2022 – the youngest a youth could be held in secure detention was raised to 13 years old. It had previously been 10.
• Neither change applies to youth alleged to have committed homicides.

Research & References

The initial legislation created a Raise The Age Implementation Task Force which issued its final report in March 2020 and requires the New York State Office of Children and Family Services to collect data on cases involving youth since the reforms took effect.

• New York State maintains online resources specific to Raise the Age legislation and developments here. For an overview of RTA and its implementation, click here.
• Click here to view Article 722.23 of the New York State Criminal Procedure Law which outlines the removal of Adolescent Offenders from Criminal Court to Family Court.
• The New York State Unified Court System has extensive resources at nycourts.gov. Here is a flowchart of what courts certain case types are assigned to under RTA from the NYS Unified Court System.
• John Jay College of Criminal Justice is among the most recognized and often cited academic and research institutions that has studied RTA. Some of its most recent research (2023) is published in this report.
• The Manhattan Institute is a “think tank” of veteran scholars, activists, journalists, civics experts, and former government officials that also issued a report on RTA in 2023.
• New York State’s Department of Criminal Justice Services (NYSDCJS) reports data from Youth Part – Criminal Court cases statewide here.