CT Juvenile Crime Bill Passes Legislature: 5 Things To Know

CONNECTICUT — The state legislature approved a bipartisan juvenile crime bill that makes some changes to how juvenile criminal matters are handled in the state.

Here is what to know:

Juvenile arrests

Juveniles generally need to be brought before a judge within five business days of an arrest. The court can order electronic monitoring if a juvenile is charged with two or more motor vehicle or property theft offenses.

The bill also gives local police access to juvenile delinquency records for criminal investigations.

New car theft crime

The bill also establishes a new penalty structure for theft of a motor vehicle. Current law is based on a vehicle’s value, with harsher penalties for stealing more expensive vehicles. The new penalty structure will be based on whether a car theft is a first or subsequent offense.

Juvenile maximum penalties

Current law allows prosecutors to ask courts to determine a proceeding as a “serious sexual offender prosecution,” according to the Office of Legislative Research. The law allows a case to still be handled in juvenile court instead of adult court, but requires at least five years of juvenile probation in addition to any prison time.

The bill would add murder, first-degree manslaughter and several gun crimes to the list for the program, which would be renamed “serious homicide, firearm or sexual offender prosecution.”

The juvenile portion of a sentence can be extended for up to 60 months.

Have car thefts increased?

Car thefts sharply increased in 2020, but preliminary data suggests there were fewer in 2021, according to the CT Mirror.

Car thefts peaked in 1991 at more than 26,000 reported incidents and reached a low of fewer than 6,000 in 2019. The number in 2020 was about the same as 2008.

Thefts in 2021 deceased between 4 and 10 percent, according to preliminary data. Data won’t be finalized until later this year.

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What was the vote count?

The Senate voted 35-1 with Sen. Dennis Bradley (D-Bridgeport) opposed. The House voted 129-17 in favor.