Final week, 14-year-old Angel Mendoza was fatally stabbed in a Bronx playground by a gaggle of teenagers. His 15-year-old buddy Yasmin discovered him dying. Within the days since, a 13-year-old was stabbed by a 14-year-old in Queens, and a 17-year-old shot at a rival teen in Instances Sq., hitting vacationers.
Sadly, these are usually not anomalies. By final yr, the variety of youths arrested with weapons had risen 136% since New York State’s “Increase the Age” laws started to take impact in 2018. And tragically, the variety of juvenile capturing victims grew 81%. Certainly, the proportion of all our metropolis’s capturing victims who’re youngsters has roughly doubled since 2018.
Why?
As a result of the felony justice course of beneath RTA permits too many violent teenagers to cycle by way of the system, unchallenged, again to playgrounds and reckless shoot-outs with few, if any, repercussions. The legislation considerably elevated the speed at which felony instances for youngsters are diverted to Household Courtroom, and in so doing, considerably decreased the chance of significant accountability for even critical crimes.
Sadly, when youngsters commit crimes, the victims are sometimes different youngsters. This implies extra younger lives minimize brief. And it incentivizes adults to place weapons within the fingers of youthful gang members who danger fewer penalties.
I’ve little question that “Increase the Age” was well-intentioned; however the tragic unintended penalties hurt the very youngsters our lawmakers search to assist. They have to amend it.
Day by day brings new proof that RTA is failing its goal of diverting susceptible youths from their felony trajectory. Underneath RTA, juvenile gun arrests have reached a quarter-century peak, with 486 arrests final yr. Younger felony assault victims additionally hit an 18-year peak of two,451. And juvenile homicide arrests have practically quadrupled, from eight in 2017 to 30 in 2024.
All this whereas 2025 has damaged information for the bottom variety of shootings and capturing victims within the first half of the yr. Our metropolis’s security wins are usually not extending to our kids—and that’s as unconscionable as it’s preventable.
Nor has RTA achieved its acknowledged aim of ameliorating racial disparity. In 2017, 72 Black and Hispanic youths have been shot – in comparison with simply three white victims. By final yr, the variety of juvenile Black and Hispanic victims skyrocketed to 114 (58% rise); white victims decreased…to zero.
That’s as a result of, somewhat than really specializing in the outcomes of every child, RTA created a convoluted chutes-and-ladders of juvenile justice – through which authority figures function blind. Youths now shuttle from arrest by way of felony courtroom, household courtroom, probation, and detention with none grownup in these companies getting a full view of their journey – not to mention whether or not a baby is definitely reforming his or her habits.
RTA faraway from susceptible teen offenders the one factor they wanted most: grownup oversight.
As an alternative, they cycle pinball-style by way of household courtroom and different avenues of diversion and return instantly to terrorizing youthful youngsters. Concurrently, social media and drill rap have grown exponentially since RTA handed. This implies youths now at all times monitor one another, promoting the place they’re, what violence they’ve dedicated, and the way the courts freed them but once more.
When a 15-year-old arrested for theft has his case eliminated to household courtroom and finally dismissed, his classmates all know he’s instantly again in class with no penalties. However the prosecutors assigned his case are blocked from realizing the way it resolved. Our officers who arrested and charged him are additionally prohibited from discovering out what occurred. And tragically, even victims can’t discover out.
Worst of all, when the identical teen is arrested for a gunpoint theft subsequent month, the decide he stands earlier than received’t be allowed to learn about his earlier instances. Nor will prosecutors or cops. However the younger offender shall be bragging about it on-line.
RTA guidelines make it very troublesome to responsibly hold harmful youths within the felony system. In response to current New York State courtroom information, amongst 16- and 17-year-old offenders, round 83% of felonies and 75% of violent felonies now roll gently over to household courtroom, the place there are restricted penalties.
This thwarts one of many system’s key capabilities of satisfying victims. As an alternative, the will for redress too typically spills over into gang retribution.
And with no precise repercussions or grownup authority, younger offenders aren’t utilizing repeated forgiveness for his or her crimes to study mature judgment. They’re escalating to extra reckless violence – perpetuating feuds to reinforce their very own standing.
And on account of social media, gang members know the place their rivals are with GPS-accuracy. Greater than half of juvenile shootings now occur outdoors of shooters’ residence precincts.
Evaluate that to NYPD officers, who’re legally blocked from realizing the place violent teenagers are. Our cops can’t even entry whether or not an arrestee is in custody or out free. How can we hold youngsters secure?
As a mom of 10- and 13-year-old boys and the Police Commissioner of the Metropolis of New York, I’m sure that we should put the precise lives and security of our kids above our good intentions. New York legislators should return grownup authority and oversight to juvenile justice earlier than extra youngsters get killed.
