As an advocate for children with mental health and other cross-systems challenges working for more than 24 years securing the rights of children and youth, I was encouraged to hear Gov. Andrew Cuomo's State of the State prioritize raising the age of criminal responsibility in New York from age 16 to 18. While opponents have long waved an outdated "tough-on-crime" banner, thousands of families have lost their children to an all too often punitive system, archaic in its design, dangerous by its nature and in direct conflict with all emerging evidence.
The time has indeed come to reconstruct our justice system to one that is developmentally appropriate, driven by evidence, carefully considers the intersecting systems of care (such as mental health, substance abuse, education and corrections) and examines the costs (both human and financial). The time has come to be smart on crime, and kudos to our governor for recognizing that.
Research overwhelmingly supports raising the age of criminal responsibility. One report by The MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice examined juvenile offenders in New Jersey and New York City. When comparing youth arrested for the same felony offenses, data showed that "adolescents processed in the New York adult courts were more likely to be re-arrested, they were re-arrested more often and more quickly and for more serious offenses, and they were re-incarcerated at higher rates than those in the New Jersey juvenile courts."
Considerable advances in neuro-scientific teenage brain development research yields support for raising the age of criminal responsibility. Such evolving analysis is drawn in part from functional magnetic resonance imaging tests showing that the pre-frontal cortex — the seat of reasoning — is not fully developed in teen years. This analysis played a significant role in the Supreme Court case of Roper vs. Simmons, in which the court held that it was cruel and unusual punishment to employ the death penalty for crimes committed before age 18.
Since Connecticut raised its age of criminal responsibility, overall spending on juvenile justice has not increased (when adjusted for inflation) despite the introduction of many new programs and services. The state has witnessed a significant drop in its juvenile crime rate. Meanwhile, the state agencies responsible for implementation spent $2 million less on juvenile justice in 2011-2012 fiscal year than they did 10 years ago.
The time has come to draw upon this ever-widening breadth of evidence to reconfigure our state's juvenile justice system to a model that ensures youth are treated in an age-appropriate manner, removes barriers to productive citizenship, guarantees that no youth are incarcerated in adult facilities, continues to reduce detention and placement in juvenile facilities, increases utilization of diversion programs, prevents sentencing youth to life with a permanent record and utilizes a tailored approach to service delivery to youth and families.
Last fall, the governor signed legislation prohibiting pharmacies and stores from selling certain over-the-counter medications to individuals younger than 18. The thinking was similar to that of statutes deeming individuals too irresponsible to enter into service of country until the age of 18, too young to understand the health risks associated with smoking tobacco until the age of 18, and too immature to handle the consequences of alcohol consumption until the age of 21. All such policies share a common denominator and premise — that youth are not developmentally mature. Yet we've continued to be an outlier in the manner in which we process, prosecute and incarcerate youths as adults.
We can do better.
Paige Pierce is executive director of Families Together in New York State, a parent-run advocacy group for children with emotional, behavioral and social challenges.