Did Connecticut’s “Raise the Age” increase motor vehicle thefts?

In 2010, Connecticut followed the pattern of most other U.S. states by raising the age of juvenile jurisdiction from 15 to 16. This was further raised from 16 to 17 years, 2 years later in July 2012. This sweeping change meant youth were no longer automatically prosecuted as adults in the criminal j...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Circo, Giovanni (Author)
Contributors: Scranton, Alexander
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2020
In: Criminal justice policy review
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
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Keywords:
Criminal Justice Policy
Juvenile Justice
Juvenile justice reform
Program Evaluation
juvenile waivers
Description
Summary:In 2010, Connecticut followed the pattern of most other U.S. states by raising the age of juvenile jurisdiction from 15 to 16. This was further raised from 16 to 17 years, 2 years later in July 2012. This sweeping change meant youth were no longer automatically prosecuted as adults in the criminal justice system. Following the change, crimes in Connecticut steadily decreased in line with nationwide trends—However, a subsequent increase in motor vehicle thefts prompted concern among critics of the “raise the age” (RTA) legislation. This study examines the change in Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) county-level index crimes before and after Connecticut changed the maximum age of juvenile jurisdiction from 16 to 17 in 2012, focusing specifically on motor vehicle thefts. Using a weighted difference-in-differences design, we estimate that RTA played a minimal role on the increase in Connecticut auto thefts between 2012 and 2017.
ISSN:1552-3586
DOI:10.1177/0887403419892045