Gov. Andrew Cuomo is again proposing a “Raise the Age” initiative, which legally raises the age of criminal responsibility in our state from 16 to 18.
Specifically, this proposal would treat 16 and 17-year-olds as youths in the criminal justice system, as opposed to as adults.
The state had last proposed raising the age of criminal responsibility in 2015.
CSEA is concerned about the proposal as it relates to not only the state Office of Children and Family Service facilities, but local government probation departments. With more youthful offenders potentially coming into a justice system that is already stressed with understaffing and inadequate funding, we are concerned about potential public safety issues. We want to ensure that workers handling these cases have the proper resources.
