Staff Reports
A Bronx teenager walking to school was gunned down. Cops later arrested another teen. Two recent cases — the killing of 15‑year‑old Javits Frimpong and the bail decision in the Riley Billingslea case — are not isolated tragedies. They are flashing red lights on a policy that promised protection but delivered confusion and, too often, chaos: New York’s Raise the Age law.
Arrest in a school‑route killing puts the law back in the spotlight
Police say a 17‑year‑old has been charged in the death of Javits Frimpong, who was shot on his way to school. That arrest brought the family and community grief and anger — and it reignited the debate over how New York handles violent teens. In a separate Bronx case, a judge set cash bail for a 16‑year‑old accused of killing another 15‑year‑old, prompting public outcry from the victim’s family. These are not abstract policy numbers. They are kids, victims, and guilty‑or‑not suspects living under a system that keeps sending mixed signals to everyone involved.
Raise the Age: data and practical failures
Critics point to rising juvenile gun arrests — local counts show about 423 juvenile gun arrests this year versus 355 in the comparable period last year, a roughly 19% jump — and say those numbers prove the law made violent teens bolder. Supporters of Raise the Age answer that short‑term arrest swings don’t prove the law caused the crimes, and note broader crime metrics have shown mixed trends. Fine. But when you combine the statistics with scenes from overcrowded youth facilities, publicized riots, and judges struggling with transfer rules, you don’t get confidence that the policy is keeping kids safe or teaching them consequences.
Overcrowded facilities and the illusion of “community monitoring”
New York City’s youth facilities are full — Horizons in the Bronx has had more kids than beds and even experienced a riot. City Hall’s answer has been mass releases to ease crowding and an “intensive community monitoring program” that sounds impressive on a press release but, in practice, can feel like a guided tour back to the streets. Gangs know the math: recruit a teen whose maximum penalty is lighter, use him as a gun carrier, and the legal system’s limits do the rest. That is not tough talk — it’s common sense reading of how incentives work.
Fix the law or restore consequences — and stop punting to rhetoric
Governor Kathy Hochul refused to include a full rollback this year, preferring funding fixes. That is politics as usual: soothing words and more money thrown at a problem that also needs clearer rules and firmer consequences. Lawmakers who care about public safety should stop pretending there are no trade‑offs. Let serious violent crimes by 16‑ and 17‑year‑olds be tried where the stakes and standards match the harm. Fund wraparound services, yes — but don’t gut accountability in the meantime. Parents walking their kids to school shouldn’t have to hold their breath because Albany chose theory over common sense.
