Police are blaming Raise the Age, a 2018 law that moved 16- and 17-year-olds out of adult court, for an increase in youth violence and victims.

"Basically, [it] created a consequence-free environment for youth in our criminal justice system," Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

NYPD data shows shooting victims under 18 are up 81% when comparing the pre–Raise the Age year of 2018 to 2024. Juvenile shooters are up 92%, and gun arrests for minors are up 136% over the same time period.

“The data is telling us, over the past five years, a very clear, stark story," Tisch said.

But the New York Civil Liberties Union says the cause is not the law itself but the lack of support that was supposed to come with it.

“Only about a third of the funding that was devoted to Raise the Age has actua

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