Increasing the Minimum Age for Adult Court

Make Juvenile Justice More Just: Raise-the-Age to 20 Years Old

“…In Michigan, Texas, or Georgia, you are an adult at 17 years old; and soon, in Vermont, you will be considered a juvenile until your 21st birthday if you commit a crime (Justice Policy Institute, 2017; Puzzanchera et al, 2018, Report to the Vermont legislature, 2018. This statutory inconsistency results in an unjust and capricious administration of justice, where those who are regarded as adults earlier fare worse than those served in the juvenile justice system (Farrington et al, 2017).…”

“…Additional research reports that provide intensive rehabilitative programs and high supervision to low-risk offenders can be counterproductive and may increase the risk of interactions with higher-risk offenders and increase the risk of recidivism (Andrews et al, 2011;Lowenkamp & Latessa, 2004). Evidence-based therapeutic programs provide a broad continuum of services that target the risks of the offenders, leading to more cost-effective and developmentally appropriate approaches that play a central role in reducing recidivism (Farrington et al, 2017;Howell & Lipsey, 2012;Robinson & Kurlychek, 2019).…”

“…Finally, Rolf Loeber and David Farrington lead study groups with approximately 30 scholars in North America and 30 scholars in Europe to examine the transition from juvenile delinquency to adult crime. Their research reached several conclusions in support of legislating at least 21 years old as the federal age of criminal responsibility, including legal boundaries between adolescents and adults is arbitrary, brain development and maturation are important determinants of culpability, the shape of the age-crime curve suggests that many individuals desist from offending in late adolescence and early adulthood, rehabilitative interventions are more prevalent in juvenile prisons than adult prisons, and incarcerating youth in adult facilities usually increases versus decreases their recidivism (with increasing seriousness of offenses) and increases the risk of victimization for the justice-involved youth (Farrington et al, 2017).…”

Juvenile sanctions for young adults in the Netherlands: A developmental perspective

“…In recent years there has been a growing debate about the special treatment of young adult offenders in the penal justice system (Farrington et al, 2012, 2017; Loeber et al, 2012). This debate focuses on increasing the maximum age for juvenile justice (Farrington et al, 2012; Loeber et al, 2012; Schiraldi et al, 2015) or, alternatively, increasing the minimum age for adult court (Farrington et al, 2017). A number of concerns fuel this debate.…”

“…Third, a substantial number of offenders desist from crime during young adulthood (Loeber and Farrington, 2012). Advocates for increasing the maximum age for juvenile law argue that the juvenile justice system includes more risk and needs assessments and uses more effective rehabilitation programmes than the adult justice system (Farrington et al, 2017). They argue, therefore, that juvenile sanctions and interventions would be especially promising for still maturing young adult offenders in facilitating desistance from criminal careers during the early adult years.…”