Bernalillo County DA proposes changes to juvenile crime laws

The Bernalillo County District Attorney announced dozens of proposed amendments to the state’s Children’s Code to try to tackle a recent uptick in juvenile crimes involving firearms.

District Attorney Sam Bregman said the 36 amendments, which range from simple definition changes to getting rid of specific processes, would hopefully be considered during the upcoming 60-day legislative session.

He said six of the amendments are of utmost importance and include adding rape, drive-by shooting and other crimes to those for which juveniles can be charged as adults, extending the age of possible imprisonment for youthful offenders from 21 to 25 years old and making it a felony for unlawful possession of a firearm.

Bregman said at a Wednesday news conference he also wants to remove the use of a risk assessment tool to determine if a child is to be detained and allow prosecutors to file charges without having to consult juvenile probation first.

He said juvenile gun crime “is, without a doubt, the one thing that keeps me up at night.”

Cmdr. Kyle Hartsock of the Albuquerque Police Department said national data finds it has never been easier for adolescents to get their hands on guns.

Bregman said it’s time to make changes to the “Delinquency Act” of the Children’s Code, as times have changed in the three decades since it was last updated.

“We didn’t have kids driving down the road in a Kia with a bag of fentanyl on the front passenger seat and their friend in the back seat videoing as they shoot out the window of a house,” he said.

Hartsock said detectives arresting the teens, who often come from “really complex family life situation,” hope they get the help they need.

“It’s not as easy as just arresting your way out of it, ... but at the same time, when they’re getting caught by our officers, they’re already really far gone,” he said.

Chief Public Defender Ben Baur, with the Law Offices of the Public Defender, said the LOPD agreed that juvenile crime “is a critical issue” and the agency would engage in conversations on the Children’s Code.

“But focusing on jailing kids and treating them as adults as a way to solve these issues is misplaced and will actually create more problems for our children and our communities,” he said in a statement. “Many of these proposed changes to the Children’s Code represent a significant expansion of treating kids in the same way we treat adults, and would result in the automatic transfer of many juvenile cases into the adult courts, without consideration of the individual circumstances. Decades of study and science, and our own experience working with children, show the deep flaws in this approach.”

House Judiciary Chair Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, said it was premature to comment on the amendments before discussing the proposals with Bregman.

“Certainly we know that the Children’s Code needs to be updated and modernized, I think there’s consensus around that point,” she said.

Senate Judiciary Chair Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, said — at first glance — some of the proposals are “worth having full discussions about.”

He said a number of them may seemingly restrict judges’ discretion in juvenile sentencing, and the public has expressed frustration that it “doesn’t reflect societal values.”

“I think we’ll be cautious about that, but I do understand where that sentiment is coming from,” Cervantes said, adding that there was “no doubt about it” that the Children’s Code needs to be updated.

He said he was glad Bregman was willing to “take the bull by the horns.”

“I think that’s what’s needed right now,” Cervantes said.

‘Bad decisions’

Bregman said juvenile crime has been increasing since he took office.

He said there was a 57% increase from 2022 to 2023 in cases “involving kids with guns,” according to data provided by his office. He said, since January 2023, his office has received 24 murder cases, 42 armed robbery cases, 48 rape cases and 65 drive-by shooting cases involving juveniles.

Bregman said they have received another 374 juvenile cases where a handgun was involved in one way or another.

“I understand kids make bad decisions. Every kid makes a bad decision, but when you put a gun in that mix of a bad decision, people die, unfortunately,” Bregman said.

With around 80,000 juveniles between the ages of 10 and 18 living in Bernalillo County, the 553 felony cases make up less than 1% of the population.

Bregman said each case can have ripple effects that devastate families on both sides. He said he hopes the amendment proposals can stem some of that effect being felt by the community.

He said teens have been sentenced to decades behind bars for murders after being given lenient penalties for lesser crimes. Just recently, Bregman said, one teen was given probation for a hit-and-run crash that killed someone and another teen was given probation after shooting at a county employee.

“The reality of this case is, if he had better aim, perhaps someone would have been dead,” he said.

Bregman said he hopes the amendments can teach them a lesson before it’s too late and the intent is not to “lock up juveniles and throw away the key.”

“What we’re trying to do is build in some consequences when a juvenile first gets in the criminal justice system, so they learn something about how you can’t violate certain laws and norms. You can’t continue that behavior,” he said.