Exclusive | Juvenile gun arrests skyrocket as NYPD sees gains in plague of youth violence

The number of teens busted with guns in NYC has skyrocketed 19% this year, even as cops see some gains in the plague of youth violence, new data show.There have been 423 kids under age 18 arrested so far this year compared to 355 in the same period in 2025, NYPD data show.There were 76 juveniles shot so far this year, a 19% decrease compared to the same period in 2025 when 93 were shot.

This year’s tally, 76, is down slightly from 2024, when 78 were shot, according to the data.The number of young shooters is down 11% this year, with 83 shooting another person so far this year compared to 93 during the same period of 2025, the data show.But the number of juveniles pulling the trigger is up 6% so far this year over two years ago, to 83 from 78, according to the data.Police attribute the problem to New York’s 2017, soft-on-crime “Raise the Age” law, which mandated housing juvenile offenders separately from adult inmates in correctional facilities.

That, coupled with laws that make some crime ineligible for cash bail, a judge will only send juveniles to the city’s main detention centers for the most serious crimes.“They’ve been sending the message for years that you’re not going to go to jail if you get caught with a loaded gun,” said retired NYPD Assistant Commissioner of Youth Strategies Kevin O’Connor.“It’s not only the guns, it’s the felony assaults with weapons.”The NYPD has been using various strategies to fight youth crime, including setting up safety zones in the areas most heavily trafficked by students, the NYPD has said.The NYPD also assigns specialized Youth Coordination Officers, supervised by sergeants, to monitor crime trends around schools and neighborhoods and to connect young people with programs.

The department also touts youth programs like Saturday Night Lights, a city-wide, youth sports program, and the Police Athletic League that runs youth initiatives.But the NYPD can only do so much about the problem of juvenile...