'Raise The Age' Law Is Rolling Out Slowest In Queens: Report

QUEENS, NY — The rollout of a new state law that teens be moved out of criminal court is happening far more slowly in Queens than in any other borough, the Queens Daily Eagle has found.

New York's Raise the Age law, which went into effect last fall, says 16-year-olds facing felony charges should be moved from criminal court to family court, unless the charges involve certain violent crimes or sex crimes.

But Queens trails the other boroughs in shifting those teens out of criminal court, according to the Queens Daily Eagle, which analyzed the state Department of Criminal Justice Services' data from Oct. 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019.

Across the city, 79 percent of 16-year-olds arraigned in criminal court were diverted, according to the Eagle. The rate was just 57 percent in Queens, the lowest of the five boroughs.

The age of juvenile delinquency will rise from 17 to 18 years old on Oct. 1, calling for even more teenagers to be moved out of criminal court. The law had raised it from 16 to 17 last October.

New York was previously one of just two states to treat 16- and 17-year-olds like adults in the criminal justice system no matter the charges, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office.

Read the full story in the Queens Daily Eagle.