Senate Clarifies Term Juvenile Delinquent

CONCORD, NH –Senate Majority Leader Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry) issued the following statement today on the Senate passing SB 506-FN, relative to aligning statutes with the age of a delinquent established under the juvenile delinquency statute:

“Our children should not be subject to laws geared towards adults. This bill works to correct the current statute to have juvenile delinquency defined as a person under 18 years old. Making our statutes more consistent means 17-year-old juvenile delinquents are not being tried like adults.”

Background: SB 506-FN aligns other statutes with the juvenile delinquency statute, RSA 169-B, which provides that a delinquent includes anyone under 18 years of age. Majority Leader Sharon Carson is the prime sponsor of this bill.