Effective Dec. 1, 2019, 16 and 17 year old individuals who commit crimes in North Carolina are no longer automatically charged in the adult criminal justice system.
NC CRED has been committed to addressing the harm caused by the disproportionate number of young people of color who become involved in the criminal justice system and end up in adult courts and detainment centers. Our Commission members contributed to research and education on the topic.
After many years of working alongside a strong, bipartisan coalition of government agencies, businesses, and research and advocacy organizations, lawmakers raised the age of juvenile jurisdiction for nonviolence crimes in 2017. Read the full text of JUVENILE JUSTICE REINVESTMENT ACT here.
We celebrate this progress but recognize that young people of color still face pervasive challenges. The school-to-prison pipeline continues to disproportionately affect students of color due to implicit bias and systematic racism. We will continue to investigate and address these challenges for NC youth.
We invite you to visit NC’s Department of Public Safety’s new webpage dedicated to Raise the Age. There, you’ll find resources, FAQs, and graphics that help explain the new legislation.