Branford Police Chief Opposes Raising The Age

By Jack Kramer, Correspondent

BRANFORD, CT – Count Branford Police Chief Kevin Halloran among those who are not a fan of raising the age that young people can be charged with criminal acts. Halloran is among many police chiefs who believe that Connecticut’s change in laws in recent years to treat older teenagers as juveniles instead of adults has created more headaches for police departments such as his own.

At the most recent Board of Police Commissioners meeting, Halloran told the commissioners that thefts from automobiles in particular are spiking in Branford and other towns in the state.

“The whole state is getting hit,” the chief said. He said many of the thefts are from teenagers, who previously would have been charged with criminal acts, but because the law has changed are now treated as juveniles if they under are the age of 18.

“And, they want to continue to raise the age (of charging young people with crimes) to 21,” Halloran said, making it clear he is adamantly opposed to the idea.

Halloran has plenty of company in his beliefs – mostly his fellow police chiefs and many Republican and conservative Democratic legislators in Hartford.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has been pushing for two years to get the General Assembly to recognize the brain isn’t fully developed until the age of 25, but he’s been met resistance.

Malloy’s original proposal would have changed how 18 to 20 year olds are treated by the state court system. Instead of being treated as adults they would be given “youthful offender” status and handled by the state’s juvenile justice system.

The governor and those who advocate for raising the age state that penalizing young people for a one-time mistake at such a young age is an unwise, and costly mistake – noting the high cost of keeping people incarcerated in Connecticut jails.