NY Governor Andrew Cuomo
ALBANY – Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday began his push to raise the age of criminal responsibility in New York.
According to the governor’s office, New York is one of only two in the nation that has no legal authority to treat 16- and 17-year olds as juveniles, resulting in hundreds of youth currently being housed in adult jails and prisons.
As a result, the governor wants to increase the age and has started a Raise The Age campaign to promote the effort.
As part of the campaign, a new website has been set up, which provides key facts about this issue. It can be found at www.ny.gov/RaiseTheAge.
Also later today, advocates will convene at the State Capitol in Albany to promote the effort and rally support for the Raise the Age campaign.
Under current state law, youth are incarcerated with the adult population in local jails while awaiting trial, and then matriculated into the greater adult prison population if found guilty.
However, 96 percent of these youth are accused or convicted of non-violent offenses.
Once in adult facilities, the governor says that youth are:
- 5 times more likely to be sexually assaulted;
- 2 times more likely to be injured by prison staff; and
- 8 times more likely to commit suicide than their peers in juvenile facilities.
By raising the age and implementing common-sense measures that help young offenders get back on track through means other than imprisonment, Cuomo says New York can reduce crime, recidivism and costs to the state.
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