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AGENCY TESTIMONY
Juvenile gun violence and the impact of 'Raise the Age' law
0:09:31
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132 sec
Commissioner Tisch addresses the concerning increase in juvenile gun violence and discusses the potential impact of the 'Raise the Age' law on this trend.
- Cites a recent tragedy involving teenage shooters and victims
- Presents statistics showing significant increases in juvenile gun arrests and shootings since 2018
- Discusses how the 'Raise the Age' law may have influenced criminal behavior among youth
- Expresses concern about the current trajectory of youth offenders in the criminal justice system
- Calls for honest conversations about how to address youth offenders effectively
Jessica Tisch
0:09:31
And that includes juvenile gun violence.
0:09:33
Violence.
0:09:34
Two weeks ago a 16 year old girl was killed by a stray bullet fired into a group of children by a 14 year old boy who was handed the gun by a 13 year old boy.
0:09:43
It was a tragedy but it was not an aberration.
0:09:46
From 2018 to 2024 the number of children under the age 18 arrested with a gun increased by one hundred and thirty six percent in New York City.
0:09:55
Over the same time shooters under the age of 18 went up by ninety two percent and young shooting victims increased eighty one percent.
0:10:04
Why?
0:10:06
What happened?
0:10:07
Among the factors, the first part of New York State's raise the age law took effect in 2018.
0:10:13
The legislation changed both the age of criminal responsibility and the way teenage offenders are processed in the courts.
0:10:19
The idea behind this was one that we can all agree with.
0:10:23
Children should not be treated like adults in our criminal justice system.
0:10:27
But as the law took effect here's what we saw.
0:10:30
When the age of criminal responsibility went up, the age of criminal suspects went down.
0:10:35
Gangs and crews began recruiting younger and younger members and had them carry the guns and commit the shootings, the robberies, the assaults.
0:10:44
Before Raise the Age about 30% of our arrests of individuals 18 were for a major felony.
0:10:50
Now it's sixty percent.
0:10:53
And we cannot forget when more shooters are kids, more shooting victims are kids too.
0:10:59
This is serious and seriously bad things come from a consequence free environment.
0:11:05
Over the next year we need to have honest conversations about how the criminal justice system deals with youth offenders because the current trajectory is unsustainable and unsafe.
0:11:14
I do not come here with all the answers but I do look forward to working with the council on effective youth strategies.
0:11:21
In the first quarter of this year shootings in New York City fell to their lowest level ever.
0:11:26
We had the second fewest homicides in recorded history.
0:11:29
There were double digit crime declines across patrol, transit, and housing.
0:11:33
The public safety gains made by the men and women of the NYPD were truly historic.
0:11:38
But even as crime and violence fell New Yorkers were telling us they still did not feel safe.