The number of people under 18 accused of major crimes has increased sharply in New York City in the past seven years, a steep trajectory that has alarmed law enforcement officials. Last year, there were 4,858 major crimes where a minor was arrested, up from 3,543 in 2017 — a 37 percent increase, reports the New York Times. Those accused or arrested in felony assaults, in which a person is seriously injured or a deadly weapon like a gun or knife is used, have jumped by 28 percent since 2017. Robberies have risen by 52 percent. Killings in which a young person was accused rose to 36 in 2023 from 10 in 2017. The number of young victims rose dramatically, climbing 54 percent by 2023 compared with 2017. “Most of what we see is youth-on-youth crime,” said Chief Michael LiPetri, head of crime strategies for the Police Department.
Crime committed by adults also rose and the proportion of youth crime in 2023 remained a small fraction of overall crime, about 3.8 percent, the same as in 2017. Still, police officials say that a rise in serious incidents involving minors can portend even more serious future violence. The seven index crimes are murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and grand larceny of automobiles. Many of the crimes have continued to increase dramatically in 2024. Through Oct. 1, there were arrests for 969 felony assaults and 2,019 robberies, a 17 percent increase from last year. The spikes, which have been pronounced as the city emerges from the pandemic and which mirror a national trend, have reanimated a decades-long argument over how to deal with young offenders. Until recently, the criminal justice system in New York treated many young people accused of serious crimes as adults. But in 2017, when youth crime had fallen to lows not seen for decades, legislators changed the way the cases of 16- and 17-year-olds were handled, passing a law known as “Raise the Age.” Police officials said the law, which diverted most cases of 16- and 17-year-old defendants from adult courts to Family Court or to judges with access to social services and special training, was at the root of the crisis. They said the law has made it harder for prosecutors and the police to provide evidence of prior serious offenses that may have gone through the sealed Family Court process, leading to the release of young people with violent backgrounds. Chief LiPetri called it “a revolving door of justice.”
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