The number of juveniles arrested for possessing firearms in New York City has increased by 137% since 2018, according to data obtained by The New York Post, marking the sixth consecutive year of rising arrests.
In 2024, 427 minors under 18 have been arrested with firearms, a 7% increase over the 397 arrests recorded during the same period in 2023. The data contrast sharply with 2018, when only 180 juveniles were caught with guns.
The rise in arrests comes amid a troubling pattern of gun-related incidents involving teenagers. In one particularly deadly stretch, four teenagers were killed in separate shootings over four consecutive days in late October. The victims included 16-year-old Clarence Jones in Harlem, 15-year-old Malachi Deberry in Brownsville, and 16-year-old Taearion Mungo in Fort Greene.
One of the challenges in addressing this issue is New York’s “Raise the Age” law, which mandates that minors caught with firearms appear in Family Court instead of criminal court. The law has led to concerns from law enforcement officials, as it limits the ability to incarcerate repeat offenders. Prior to the change, 16- and 17-year-olds arrested with firearms would face arraignment in criminal court, where some ended up being detained at Rikers Island. However, under the new norm, minors are often released back into the community without facing serious consequences for repeated gun offenses.
“There are cases of kids with multiple gun arrests who are just released each time,” said Kevin O’Connor, a recently retired NYPD Assistant Commissioner of Youth Services. Family Court judges are not always provided with information on a juvenile’s prior gun arrests, making it difficult to impose appropriate sentences.
In response to these challenges, the city has expanded youth prevention programs, such as “Saturday Night Lights”, which offers recreational activities for teens to help keep them off the streets. Deputy Mayor Ana Almanzar emphasized the importance of both enforcement and prevention, noting that there are over 100 such programs across the city aimed at engaging youth in constructive activities.
The NYPD is also taking a proactive approach by working with schools and communities to identify at-risk youth before they get involved with guns. Detective Frank Gagnon of the NYPD’s Collaborative Policing Unit explained that officers collaborate with school safety agents and administrators to monitor students’ behavior and associations. They also engage with teens outside schools to assess their social circles and prevent gang involvement. “Our goal is to identify where the influence is coming from and help steer kids away from that,” Gagnon said.
“The difficulty of our job as youth officers is dealing with situations where the family dynamic is not supportive,” Gagnon noted.
