Evaluating the Causal Impacts of Raise the Age (RTA) in Michigan

• In Event: Causes and consequences of adolescent delinquency

Abstract

During the past two decades, legislators, practitioners, and advocates have collectively worked to reform the juvenile justice system through Raise the Age (RTA) laws, which aim to extend the purview of the juvenile justice system from pre-existing caps at ages 16 or 17 up through at least the youth’s 18th birthday. The goal of these reforms is to “treat children like children”, recognizing that by extending the purview of the juvenile justice system, a more developmentally appropriate approach to criminal justice practices can be established. Challengers of this reform effort claim that increasing purview of the juvenile justice system will decrease the deterrent effects of punishment, leading to increases in youth crime. This project examines the impacts of RTA reforms in one recent adopter – Michigan. This study uses difference-in-difference modelling to examine the impacts of RTA adoption on youth arrest trends in Michigan across crime types. Preliminary results indicate that RTA had no significant impact on overall youth arrest trends between the ages of 16 and 25. The discussion of this study will add to the growing causal body of research examining the impact of RTA laws on youth crime, including their effectiveness as a policy for addressing youth crime trends and recent efforts to repeal these laws.

Author

• Elias Nader, Kent State University