NC Lawmakers Hope to Raise Age of Juvenile Jurisdiction

RALEIGH—A handful of state lawmarkers introduced legislation to “raise the age” of juvenile jurisdiction, an issue that’s gotten more attention in recent years.

The bill has not yet been assigned to committee.

North Carolina is currently one of two states that automatically prosecutes 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds as adults. The proposal would change that so when it comes to misdemeanor offenses, the offenders would be handled in the juvenile system.

An organization called NC Child is standing behind the legislation. It says under current law, offenders at the age of 16 and 17 can be prosecuted as adults even for low-level offenses like stealing a bag of chips.

Representatives with the organization believes the legislation would have a big impact statewide—from making communities safer, to saving taxpayers money, and ultimately improving the outcomes for children.

“We do have a lot of people in my own party who are very much into ‘You have done the crime, you do the time mentality.’ It has just taken time to understand in this particular case we are doing more damagae based on what we would be able to do if we took a different approach,” said Rep. Marilyn Avila, a Wake County Republican.

The issue has consistently been opposed by the NC Sheriff’s Association, who has wondered where money would come from to implement a change to the justice system like this.

Source: NC Lawmakers Hope to Raise Age of Juvenile Jurisdiction