NEWS UPDATE: On August 14, KOAT TV Target 7 ran a lengthy story entitled “Juvenile Injustice: The cause, solutions and roadblocks to fighting juvenile crime in New Mexico”. The full story can be found at this link.
https://www.koat.com/article/new-mexico-juvenile-crime-problems-answers/65667309
On July 15, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman, flanked by police chiefs from Farmington, Española, Las Cruces, the New Mexico Department of Public Safety and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference in Albuquerque to address what they all characterized as a “juvenile crime crisis”. Once again they asked the New Mexico legislature to enact major reforms to the state’s juvenile justice system as embodied in the Children’s Code.
Española Police Chief Mizel A. Garcia said that with less than 11,000 residents, his department arrested two 15-year-olds, armed with rifles, who terrorized a homeless shelter where people were sleeping and fired multiple rounds over their heads “for no apparent reason” and he said it was sure “luck” no one was hurt.
Las Cruces Police Department Police Chief Jeremy Story said that in Las Cruces, three juveniles were arrested in connection with a mass shooting at a Las Cruces park on March 21, three people died and 15 others were shot with the shooters being teenagers. Chief Story said a 20-year-old was also charged in the shooting. Story said this:
“Juvenile crime is not just an Albuquerque problem. Unfortunately, it’s a New Mexico problem. Kids are committing crime after crime with no real consequences or accountability. I have six kids that have been arrested 11 or more times as a juvenile. I have 37 additional kids who have been arrested between six and 10 times. That shouldn’t be able to happen in a system that’s functioning correctly.” [Las Cruces police] have been able to charge and convict nearly a dozen juveniles with a federal offense. Now, for most of those kids, that’s the first time they’ve ever had a meaningful consequence or accountability for their actions.”
Secretary of the State Department of Public Safety Jason Bowie said this:
“There’s a clear gap in our system in holding these juveniles accountable. We’re failing miserably in this state. During town halls the governor has hosted [around the state] … the message has been consistent. People in these communities are afraid.”
Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen said this:
“New Mexico has a culture of coddling criminals. As you see, my colleagues from around the state, from the northwest, from the south, from Española, wherever we are, each hits each corner of the state. No longer can any representative or senator say it does not affect their area.
We are begging you, and I’m imploring you, representatives and senators, to look at the proposal that D.A. Bregman gave you. If you don’t agree with it, we understand. We are here to work with you. Pick 3 to 5 items that we can all agree on and move the system forward, since the code has not been enumerated since 1978.
We must have a balance of approach of rehabilitation and accountability. No program, wherever you are in the nation, specifically when it comes to rehabilitation, will work unless you have an enforcement arm. My pundits will say, ‘John, you’re trying to throw away the key and put him in jail.’ I am not saying that.
What I will tell you is if you know that there are no consequences for your actions and you are put into a rehabilitation program, but you re-offend— Juveniles tell us in the back of my deputy’s patrol units, ‘We’re not worried about it. We will be released, and we will get around the system.’ And guess what? They are. Last night, a 17-year-old at Coors and Los Estancia fired a firearm into a car, barely missing the driver’s head, which would have been a homicide.
We have heard from numerous investigations about juveniles that not only don’t care, but they actually laugh about their crime and say “Wow, I can’t believe I shot that person. I have no care in the world.’ ”
Albuquerque Police Commander Kyle Hartsock said this:
“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.”
Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said juvenile crime has an impact on law enforcement recruiting efforts, and public perception of how well police can protect New Mexicans. Chief Hebbe said this:
“This is a sign that the public is losing confidence that justice will be delivered.”
WORSENING “JUVENILE CRIME CRISIS”
Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman for his part said his office has linked 70 different homicides to 53 juveniles in his two and a half years as District Attorney. Bregman said the evidence of the worsening “juvenile crime crisis” has been increasingly clear to him since taking office. He also said the state Legislature has failed to address the rising crime rates among juveniles and involving violent juveniles in particular. Bregman said this:
“These violent incidents are happening in every corner of New Mexico. … We are facing a juvenile crime crisis. … It’s one that continues to get worse every single day in New Mexico. There are teens or younger who are committing crimes all over the state and are getting away with it because they know they can. … I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, that it isn’t, unfortunately, until they are charged with murder, that they finally face any real consequences. And then it’s too late. … This isn’t just a statistic. People are dying. These are real victims. … Our leaders in Santa Fe, with the notable exception of the governor, have been tone-deaf to the crisis on the ground.”
Bregman express the identical concerns last October before the 60 day 2025 legislative session that began on January 21 and ended March 22. The juvenile code has not been updated in decades and Bregman proposed a slate of legislative changes to the Children’s Code which embodies the juvenile justice system. None of Bregman’s proposed legislation passed during the 2025 sixty day Legislative session and much of the legislation didn’t even get one hearing in a 60-day session.
Bregman’s list of proposed changes his office developed to increase consequences for violent crime committed by juveniles included the following:
- 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
Bregman said this of his proposals:
“We are now giving these proposals to every single legislator so each and every one of them have no excuse not to have a robust debate about the future of our children. There is no excuse now not to try. Just trying. That’s what I’m asking the Legislature to do. Just try.”
“We need action. … We can be the leader in this nation when it comes to the explosion of juvenile crime, but we need to change our juvenile laws to match the times …. I know one thing, what we’re doing now certainly isn’t working.”
SHORTAGE OF JUVENILE JUSTIC DETENTION FACILITIES
Compounding the problem is that the state has just three juvenile detention facilities, prompting some of the more rural law enforcement agencies to travel to Bernalillo County to house violent juvenile offenders awaiting resolution of their cases.
Bernalillo County’s juvenile detention facility is at capacity, housing 75 juveniles waiting to be tried or awaiting sentencing. Of those, 27 are in for murder. Under state law, it is the county governments that are responsible for detention facilities, both adult and juvenile.
NEW MEXICO PUBLIC DEFENDER REACTS
Ben Baur, New Mexico’s chief public defender, said this through a spokeswoman:
“We all agree that we are seeing heart-breaking violence involving young people, guns and social media, and that people are being hurt. We absolutely need to find solutions, but these proposals basically amount to ‘send kids to prison early and often.’ … This won’t prevent crime. It won’t make them grow into better kids. It will just make them better criminals. It’s not ‘updating’ the juvenile code, it’s taking it back to old, disproven ideas.”
The link to the quoted or relied upon new sources are here:
https://www.koat.com/article/juvenile-crime-albuquerque-new-mexico/65419239
https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_d6de5b08-6a3e-4600-bc89-a3ea9d6e6ea6.html
DRAMATIC SPIKE IN VIOLENT CRIMES COMMITTED BY JUVENILES WITH GUNS
Since January 4, 2023, when Bregman was first appointed by the Governor to the fill the vacancy caused by then District Attorney Raul Torrez being elected Attorney General, his office received well over 1,400 juvenile cases, including 119 felony gun crimes up and through 2024 alone. There was a 57% increase from 2022 to 2023 in cases “involving kids with guns” according to data provided by the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office.
From January 1, 2023 to January 1, 2025 the District Attorney Office received 24 murder cases, 42 armed robbery cases, 48 rape cases and 65 drive-by shooting cases all involving juveniles. 374 juvenile cases where a received where a handgun was involved in one way or another. There are upwards of 80,000 juveniles between the ages of 10 and 18 living in Bernalillo County. The 553 felony cases cited make up less than 1% of the population.
Last year, Bregman said it was time to make changes to the “Delinquency Act” of the Children’s Code, as times have changed in the 3 decades since it was last updated. Bregman said teens have been sentenced to decades behind bars for murders after being given lenient penalties for lesser crimes. As an example Bregman said one teen was given probation for a hit-and-run crash that killed someone while another teen was given probation after shooting at a county employee. Bregman said this:
“The reality of this case is, if he had better aim, perhaps someone would have been dead. … What we’re trying to do [with the changes in the law] 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.”
Bregman said each case can have ripple effects that devastate families on both sides. He said he hopes the proposed changes to the Children’s Code can stem some of the effect being felt by the community. Bregman said this about juvenile gun violence:
“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. … each case can have ripple effects that devastate families on both sides. … Those victims of violence committed by juveniles and their families have had their lives destroyed”
Bregman said in the past that he hoped changes to the juvenile code would teach juveniles a lesson before it’s too late and the intent is not to “lock up juveniles and throw away the key”. Bregman said this:
“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.”
Bregman said addressing juvenile crime goes beyond lawmakers addressing the problem and he said this:
“This takes an entire community, including parents and family members, to make a difference in these young people’s lives. We all have to come together as a community and as a state, if you will. … 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.”
RECALLING PROPOSED CHANGES THAT FAILED
Under the existing Children’s Code, a “Serious Youthful Offender” is a child 15 to 18 years of age who is charged with and indicted or bound over for trial for first degree murder. A child upon conviction can be sentenced as an adult for the crime. There are no other crimes other than first degree murder that a “Serious Youthful Offender” can be charged with. Bregman said this:
“Currently, the only crime that you can charge as an adult is first degree murder. … We want to expand that to include second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, rape, shooting at or from a motor vehicle causing great bodily harm or death.”
Under the existing children’ s code a “Youthful Offender” is defined as a delinquent child subject to adult or juvenile sanctions who is 14 to 18 years of age at the time of the offense and who is adjudicated as committing at least one of a number of listed serious felonies such as second degree murder, kidnapping, robbery, aggravated battery (with a weapon), criminal sexual penetration (rape), aggravated burglary, aggravated arson, shooting at a dwelling or occupied building or shooting at or from a motor vehicle.
The proposed changes to the Children’s Code District Attorney Sam Bregman offered for enactment during the 2025 legislative that were not even given a committee hearing and that failed include the following:
1. Expanding the definition of “Serious Youthful Offender” to include second degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, criminal sexual penetration (rape), armed robbery with the use of a firearm, shooting at or from a motor vehicle causing great bodily harm or death, and shooting at dwelling or occupied building causing great bodily harm or death.
2. Extending the age of possible imprisonment for “Youthful Offenders”from 21 to 25 years old. As the law is currently written, once a juvenile offender turns 21, in most cases, the criminal justice system automatically loses jurisdiction. Extending jurisdiction to age 25 would provide more time to get youthful offenders to get the treatment and supervision they need, while also monitoring the progress they are making.
3. Making it a felony for unlawful possession of a firearm for people under 19 to have any guns, including rifles, and not just handguns. Right now, it is illegal for anyone under the age of 19 to be in possession of a handgun. However, it is not illegal for anyone under the age of 19 to possess an assault rifle. The law would be updating language from “handgun”to “firearm,” which will include assault rifles. Bregman is also proposing to increase the penalty for this crime from a misdemeanor to a fourth-degree felony.
4. Moving a person to an adult facility once they reach the age of 18. Bregman believes that when a juvenile convicted of a violent crime turns 18, they should go to an adult facility because he does not want an 18-year-old in custody with a 13-year-old.
5. Remove the use of the “Risk Assessment Tool”to determine if a child is to be detained and allow prosecutors to file charges without having to first consult the juvenile probation office. Bregman said detention risk assessments also often stand in the way of holding young people who have been arrested, adding the assessments fail to give judges enough discretion and law enforcement officers enough credit as people with firsthand knowledge of a crime.
Bregman said this: “I say that if a police officer determines that that person needs to be arrested at the time, they need to be booked into the [detention center], and within 24 hours or so, a judge needs to hear and determine whether or not that person should be detained pending adjudication of the charges”.
6. Unsealing juvenile records during certain court hearings proceedings. This would consist of removing the secrecy laws that seal juvenile records from public review for the most serious offenders. This would allow juvenile records to be used during any adult conditions of release or sentencing hearing without having to obtain a court order to unseal the records. Every judge has the right to know and consider if the person in front of them has a violent past when determining conditions of release or sentencing. This change would allow for additional information to be heard and considered and will ultimately promote public safety.
7. Requiring judges to preside over juvenile detention hearings.
8. Grant judge’s discretion on the length of probation or commitment terms based on a juvenile’s history.
Bregman said this of all the proposed changes at the time:
“Changing the way we do business in our children’s criminal justice system is the single number one priority we can do when it comes to crime in our legislature in the upcoming 60-day session.”
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Simply put, New Mexico’s children are committing more and more violent crimes where guns are involved. The state’s Children Code and our Juvenile Criminal Justice System has not been able to keep up with changing times to deal with what now can only be considered a “juvenile violent crime crisis”. Part of the problem is just how complicated the children’s code really is and its application. The ultimate question that must be addressed is what is in the “best interest of the child” and keeping a family together versus punishment, incarceration and making sure justice is served and the public is protected.
It is very clear that the primary emphasis and purpose of the Children’s Code is not punishment in the form of confinement of child for crimes committed but on rehabilitation, services, counseling and social services. The primary goal of the Children’s Code and the Juvenile Justice System is to keep the family unit intact and what is in the best interest of the child. Such an approach is wise whenever you are dealing with delinquency types of cases and children of tender age. It is teenage juveniles that pose the biggest problem of what approach is in order.
Under the children’s code there is no mandatory sentencing and confinement when delinquency is found and when it does happen it can only be up and until the child reaches 18. However, things do get very complicated when gun violence is involved, protecting the public from gun violence and when it comes to sentencing a child as an adult when charges are brought against the child as a “youthful offender” or “serious youthful offender.”
All of the major proposals and changes to the Children’s Code as outlined and proposed by District Attorney Sam Bregman are reasonable and necessary given the violent crimes being committed by juveniles and should be adopted by the legislature. No doubt many will argue that they run afoul of the purpose and intent of the Children’s Code which is to do what is in the best interest of a child.
DA Bregman’s proposals to expand the definition of “serious youthful offender” so more types of crimes could lead to children being tried as adults is reasonable and necessary given the types of violent crime that is being committed. The challenge for the legislature is to decide what types of offenses for which a juvenile over 15 can be charged as an adult. Right now, that can only happen for first-degree murder. What should be included are all violent crimes involving a weapon and should include the crimes of aggravated assault, aggravated battery armed robbery with a firearm, and child abuse resulting in death. The legislature should also fix the law that currently allows a teenager to wield an assault rifle, though handguns are still illegal.
The New Mexico legislature must decide how many more innocent people need to be killed or be injured before legislature confronts the juvenile violent crime crisis?