Oct. 13—There is no easy solution to the rising number of gun crimes among teens, especially in New Mexico’s most populous county.
According to the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, 21 juveniles are currently facing charges in Bernalillo County in deaths involving firearms. A total of 121 children are facing gun-related charges.
The issue has led to proposals from District Attorney Sam Bregman for changes and additions to state law that would lead to harsher penalties for juveniles. He presented these proposals to the Legislature’s Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee this summer.
However, his proposals have drawn sharp criticism from juvenile justice advocates, who argue that such measures would be excessively punitive and would perpetuate the problems that drive young people to become involved in firearms and crime.
“These policies fail to address the root causes of violence, and we know from experience that such an approach is not only ineffective, but also incredibly harmful to young people and their communities,” said Denali Wilson, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of New York . Mexico, wrote in an email.
“Young people don’t pick up guns because they are naturally violent and need punishment; they do this because they are navigating an incredibly painful world in which they seek love and connection. [in] all in the wrong places,” she added.
Among Bregman’s ideas: expand the definition of “serious juvenile offender” to include a host of new crimes for which juveniles can be convicted as adults; restricting the ability of youth to carry rifles and shotguns; and transferring youth to the county jail once they turn 18.
“I’m not someone who believes that we should throw all the young people in jail and throw away the key,” Bregman said in an August interview with The New Mexican. “But I do believe that some violations are so cruel and violent that we need to take a strong stand on them.”
Many juvenile justice advocates have joined Bregman’s proposal to transfer as recently as 18-year-olds to the county jail, which he said was because “we shouldn’t mix young teenagers, young people, with adults.”
“On your 18th birthday, [if] If you’re going to kill someone, you’re going to be committed to the Metropolitan Detention Center. “If you are 17 and a day away from your 18th birthday and you commit murder, you go to the D house,” he said. “…I think it’s pretty simple that on your 18th birthday, if that’s you, if you’re still being held because of a crime you committed, you have to get a ride to the Metropolitan Detention Center.
But advocates argued that there is very little developmentally that separates an 18-year-old from other young people.
“Your brain doesn’t reach another level of emotional intelligence on the day of your birthday,” says George Luján, executive director of the Southwest Organizing Project in Albuquerque, a nonprofit that aims to transform the juvenile justice system.
Tom Swisstack, chairman of the state Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, said the best chance to turn people’s lives around is when they are young.
“I can’t imagine just starting to arbitrarily move every 18-year-old once they reach that age because of the violation, and putting them in a situation where it’s going to be extremely difficult to minimize sight and sound, where you guys are grown men who have been involved in the system for a long time,” said Swisstack, who is also the former mayor of Rio Rancho and years ago headed the Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center.
“[I’m] I’m not saying we don’t hold kids accountable. It’s the way we do that – that’s the main thing that will prevent them from getting further into a system,” he added.
Bregman also wants to limit young people’s access to firearms by expanding the ban on people under the age of 19 carrying handguns to include all firearms. As it stands now, Bregman argued, these young people are not prohibited from owning firearms with a barrel length of more than 12 inches, including rifles and shotguns.
“It’s baffling to me, to say the least, how we have a policy that says anyone under the age of 19 can’t have a gun, yet they can have an assault rifle,” he said.
Miranda Viscoli, co-chair of the nonprofit New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence, said she agrees with Bregman on this issue, provided it is clear that hunter children should still be allowed to carry guns.
“If they specifically hunt or participate in shooting sports, then that should be an exception,” she said.
Advocates also differed from Bregman on one of his ideas: expanding the definition of “serious juvenile offender,” or a teenager who can be sentenced as an adult.
Under Bregman’s proposal, a serious juvenile offender would include not only a teenager charged with first-degree murder, but also youth charged with second-degree murder, child abuse resulting in death and criminal sexual penetration.
The proposal would automatically designate teens accused of such crimes as serious juvenile offenders, rather than waiting until they are indicted by a grand jury or for their cases to go to state district court.
“These are crimes of such a serious nature, and it is so serious for the safety of the community, that we need to be able to make sure we can put them aside for a while,” Bregman said.
But Swisstack and Luján pointed out the strain that would be placed on the state’s juvenile justice system if the definition of serious juvenile offender were expanded.
“Any policy that will increase the number of people who go through this and the level of punishment they receive is really not feasible for our state. It won’t really work,” Luján said.
Esteban Candelaria is a member of the staff at Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. He is responsible for child welfare and the state’s Department of Children, Youth and Families. Learn more about Report for America at reportforamerica.org.
