BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — In 2017, New York enacted the "Raise the Age" Law, which brought the age of criminal responsibility up to 18 for young people who commit non-violent crimes. Prior to 2017, 16 and 17-year-olds could be charged as adults.
Since 2018, that law has allowed 390 out of 648 violent crime cases involving young people to go to family court rather than face a criminal trial.
But over the past two years, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said he has observed an alarming trend that has him questioning if the "Raise the Age" law needs to be tweaked.
"A decrease in the age of individuals committing shootings and homicides, and a decrease in the age of victims of shootings and homicides," Flynn said.
Flynn said he believes 16 and 17-year-olds should not be treated as adults with certain crimes, but with gun possession charges are different.
"Because those individuals are on a path to using that gun," Flynn said.
Flynn has fought to keep those cases in Youth Part Court. Since October 2018, there's been just over 108 youth gun related cases. The District Attorney's Office has filed motions to keep 47 of those cases. 38 of those motions were denied, and 9 were granted.
"And once it goes to family court, obviously the consequences are not as severe, and the accountability is just not there to hold someone's feet to the fire who I believe has committed a serious offense in having an illegal gun," Flynn said.
Anti-violence advocate Murray Holman said repeat gun offenders do need to stay in Youth Part Court, but those who aren't deserve that second chance.
"Instead of going to jail or being locked up, they to come to programs like this one here. They're off the street for a period, from 4 o'clock until 9. That data is down. Crime is down," Holman said.
Holman has run the county-sponsored Youth Gun Violence Prevention and Employment Program for two years. Some participants have come to the program through family court, while others joined simply because they wanted to.
"What I did was stupid. This is really a learning experience. It's keeping me off the streets, how to build money. It's preparing me for a real job," Kwincie Mccullough, a 17-year-old participant, said.
"With this time that I'm doing right now, I was here from 12 to six. I could have been doing something else, but I'm here," Jamarr Green, a 17-year-old participant, said.
The 90 participants get paid for their time spent in the program.
"It's like community service. We run around, clean stuff up. We sit down and then they talk to us," Walid Salin, a 16-year-old participant in the program, said.
Guest speakers come in to help participants figure out what career path they may want to take.
"Like making movies, being in the movies as an actor, firefighter, construction worker, things and stuff like that," Brian Paige, a 16-year-old participant in the program, said.
