New York's Teen Crime Wave: Is Raise the Age Law Failing?

New York City's crime rates have been dropping, but there's a troubling exception: teen crime. In 2025, juvenile crime rates kept climbing, despite overall crime rates going down. This has people wondering if the state's 2018 Raise the Age law is part of the problem. The Raise the Age law changed things so that 16- and 17-year-olds go to Family Court instead of regular criminal court. This means they often avoid serious punishments like jail time. Some people think this is why teen crime is going up. In 2025, 14% of shooting victims were under 18, up from 9% the year before. Even more concerning, 18% of those committing gun violence were minors. These numbers are the highest since the NYPD started tracking them in 2018, right when Raise the Age went into effect. District attorneys across the state are calling for changes to the law. They want it to focus more on both rehabilitating young offenders and keeping communities safe. But there's a big question: Does rehabilitation really work?Studies show that rehabilitation programs don't always have the expected effects. Changing behavior, especially that of troubled teens, is incredibly difficult. Instead of relying on these programs, some suggest making small but important changes to the law. For example, giving judges access to a juvenile's full criminal history could help. Some groups argue that Raise the Age is working as intended—keeping teens out of the adult justice system. But if the goal is to make teens safer and help them lead better lives, the law isn't doing its job. The latest crime numbers prove this. Teen crime is a serious issue that needs urgent attention. While some people resist any form of incarceration for teens, others argue that the current approach isn't working. It's time for New York to rethink its strategy and find a better way to handle juvenile crime.