Juvenile Justice

Children are North Carolina’s most vital and valuable resource and investing

in them is investing in our collective future. Over 30,000 of our children are currently involved with the adult criminal justice system. Over 85% of these children have committed minor crimes, yet, for many, a single bad decision made when they were 16 or 17 years old will determine the trajectory of their lives.

We all know adolescents do not think like adults. As a society, we do not permit them to vote for their leaders, smoke, drink alcohol or make major, life-changing decisions without parental consent, because we have determined they are not sufficiently mature to handle these responsibilities. Scientific research on the adolescent brain bears this out.

North Carolina is the only state that continues this practice with no exceptions. The rest of the country has realized that handling juveniles in the juvenile system is being smart on crime. When minors are handled in the juvenile system, fewer of them go on to commit another crime. Lower recidivism rates mean that long-term costs to society are lower, and more youth grow up to become successful, productive citizens.

A bill is pending in the N.C. General Assembly to gradually (over the next six years) phase 16- and 17-year-olds out of the adult system and into the juvenile system.  Judges would still retain their authority to remand minors to the adult system for any felony. Grassroots support for the principles behind the bill to raise the age is crucial at this point in the process.  NCSJP will continue to work with our partners in order to bring a reasonable and comprehensive bill to General Assembly in order to remedy these embarrassing and dangerous laws.