ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman is setting the stage for a new battle in the Roundhouse.

We’re about three months out from the 60-day legislative session, and Bregman says it’s time to rewrite the Children’s Code so we can tackle the juvenile crime epidemic in our state. 

Bregman says juvenile crime is out of control and the current juvenile justice laws we have on the books just aren’t working the way they’re supposed to.

Since January 2023, Bregman says his office has received more than 1,400 juvenile cases, including 119 felony gun crimes this year alone.

He says there was a 57% surge in juvenile gun crimes between 2022 and 2023. While social media is likely a big factor, law enforcement leaders say youth offenders know they can get away with violent crimes.

“The perception of their peers right now is that there are no consequences for crimes committed by juveniles in this community,” said Bernalillo County Sheriff Chief Deputy David Funes. 

Bregman blames that attitude on the outdated Children’s Code. The last time state lawmakers reworked New Mexico’s juvenile justice laws was back in 1993.

Bregman’s office developed a list of proposed changes to increase those consequences:

• Expanding the definition of serious youthful offender to include second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, rape and other violent crimes
• Extending the age range of “youthful offenders” from 21 to 25 years old to allow for more treatment and supervision
• Unsealing juvenile records during certain court hearings
• Making it illegal for people under 19 to have any guns, and not just handguns

“Let’s give them the chance to get on the right path and be productive citizens, because if we don’t give them consequences early on, we end up with juveniles who are sentenced for decades in the corrections department,” said Bregman.

It’s up to state lawmakers to make all of these changes.

Speaker of the House Javier Martinez seems to agree it’s time to update the Children’s Code, and law enforcement leaders challenged the idea juvenile crime is only an Albuquerque problem.

“It is a statewide problem. Our detectives work with police in Santa Fe, Roswell, Las Cruces, Taos, Ruidoso all the time. And helping solve their crimes or track some of their offenders that are coming through Albuquerque, many of them juveniles,” said Albuquerque Police Cmdr. Kyle Hartsock. 

The 60-day legislative session begins in January. That’s when we’ll know if state lawmakers do plan on updating New Mexico’s juvenile justice laws.