According to the Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act, 16 year old juveniles will no longer automatically be charged as adults and the age of criminal responsibility will be raised to 18, effective December 1, 2019. Naturally, adolescents tend to make decisions out of emotion rather than logic. If you look back on things you engaged in as a child, it would be a far cry from what you would do today. North Carolina is one of the last states in the US to implement this law. There has been a long-standing conflict between members of the legislature where one side advocates for law enforcement and public safety, while the other side represents the best interest of the youth. Those in favor of the law believe that early rehabilitation will prevent recidivism among the juvenile population. The Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act was made part of the 2017 state budget and monies will be allocated to preventative resources. It has been reported that after two weeks of the law’s implementation positive progress was noticed.
In 2018, the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, found that the top five juvenile offenses were simple assault, larceny, disorderly conduct at school, communicating threats, and truancy. Additionally, they found that out of 21,000 youths located in 100 counties, 11,000 were somehow involved in the juvenile justice system. Data has shown that 60% of juvenile cases were non-serious offenses, Class 1-3 misdemeanors. A “delinquent juvenile” is defined by G.S. 7B-1501(7), as any juvenile who, while less than 16 years of age but at least 6 years of age, commits a crime or infraction under State law or under an ordinance of local government, including violation of the motor vehicle laws, or who commits indirect contempt by a juvenile as defined by G.S. 5A-31.
Additional categories are excluded from the new “Raise the Age” law, as stated by the Department of Public Safety, excluded juveniles are, “...those who have been convicted in either superior of district court for a misdemeanor or felony". All felonies under Chapter 20 will be excluded, as well as Chapter 20 misdemeanors that involve impaired driving. It is presumed that a juvenile with a prior speeding conviction is excluded from juvenile court jurisdiction, while the exclusion might not apply to a juvenile with a prior conviction for a non-Chapter 20 motor vehicle offense.
It is vital that we as a community protect the future of our youth. Poor decisions coupled with a lack of maturity is sure to bring about collateral consequences that can impose on potential further education, employment opportunities, and other transitions to adulthood. Introduction of this new law is likely to alleviate the current problems plaguing the juvenile justice system and work towards the mission of rehabilitating our youth.
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