Bernalillo County District Attorney shares new proposals for juvenile crime laws

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Bernalillo County’s District Attorney says it’s time to crack down on kids committing crimes. On Wednesday, he outlined dozens of proposed changes to the law, which he hopes will gain traction in the Roundhouse.

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Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman said his office received more than 1,400 juvenile cases between the start of 2023 and the beginning of this month. He said it will take the entire community along with the legislature to make a change. “It’s not working, the children’s code is not working, our children’s criminal justice system is not working,” said Bregman.

It’s a strong message from the Bernalillo County District Attorney who said the state’s Children’s Code is outdated and weak. On Wednesday, Bregman announced a list of proposals he hopes lawmakers take up during the upcoming legislative session to create stronger consequences for juveniles committing crimes.

He added that the updates are long overdue. “The last time the Children’s Code was updated was in the previous century. It was before the invention of the iPhone. The last time the code was updated was over 30 years ago,” said Bregman.

One of the changes would expand the definition of a “serious youthful offender,” adding crimes including second-degree murder and rape. Another change would update the law prohibiting minors from having handguns, to apply to all firearms, since right now it’s legal for them to possess rifles and other long guns. Bregman would also like to raise the age someone can be kept in the juvenile system from 21 to 25 if they need more treatment or supervision.

The Albuquerque Police Department and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office spoke about the trends they’ve been seeing in the field. “The amount of juveniles also involved in auto thefts has skyrocketed for our department. We’ve caught kids as young as 12 years old, joy-riding in cars, stealing our bait cars, stealing other people’s cars,” said APD Commander Kyle Hartsock.

Other suggestions include removing the secrecy law for the most serious offenders. Bregman belives that the public should know if someone committed a murder regardless of their age. “Changing the way we do business in our children’s criminal justice system is the single number one priority we can do when it comes to crime in our legislature in the upcoming 60-day session,” said Bregman.

Albuquerque police added that juvenile crime has increased since the pandemic especially shootings out of moving cars or at buildings. The DA’s Office added that they’ve also seen an increase in juvenile crimes on social media including teens selling guns online. The DA’s Office said they’ve submitted their proposals to the governor’s office and to lawmakers. The session starts on January 21.

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