WASHINGTON, DC – FWD.us President Todd Schulte issued the following statement today as North Carolina raises the age of juvenile court jurisdiction from 15 to 17:

“We congratulate North Carolina legislators on both sides of the aisle for raising the age of juvenile jurisdiction to 17 for those charged with misdemeanors and lower level felonies. This is an important first step in catching North Carolina up to the rest of the country and following the extensive research that has long confirmed that prosecuting youth in the adult criminal justice system results in poor outcomes for these children and for public safety.

“Public safety experts and advocates from across the political spectrum have lobbied to raise the age in North Carolina for many years. We applaud their commitment and we hope this common sense and research-backed criminal justice reform is followed by many more.”

FWD.us is proud to have aided North Carolina’s Raise the Age effort with government relations support.