The Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice reviewed some of the innovative programs operated by Maryland’s Department of Juvenile Services, including “The Thrive Academy” (TTA) and an intervention strategy known as “Safer Stronger Together” (SST).
It does not appear to be accurate to attribute recent increases in violent crime to the State law known as “Raise the Age.”
“Minors contribute to the overall crime problem, but not in a way that would justify the overwhelming punitive policy response,” said Jeffrey Butts, research professor and director of the Research and Evaluation Center at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “Is it misleading to concentrate our attention on one subset of the population?”
Violent arrests among New Yorkers under age 18 surged after 2020, most likely for the same reasons as adults.
Jeffrey Butts, a professor and director of the Research and Evaluation Center at CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said any jump in crime stats is significant — but noted that it must also be evaluated within the context of the city’s history, population size and its place among other similar cities.
John Jay Research and Evaluation Center (JJREC) collaborated with NORC at the University of Chicago to assess the implementation of violence interruption services, wraparound services, and technical assistance services coordinated by community-based organizations supported through New York City’s “Crisis Management System” (CMS).
