Starting this Sunday, more than a dozen new laws will go into effect in North Carolina. These laws cover a range of topics, including human trafficking, juvenile justice, and sex crimes.
Here’s a simple breakdown of some key changes:
Raise the Age Law This law changes how 16- and 17-year-olds are treated in the criminal justice system. Now, young adults who commit certain serious crimes can be charged as adults.
The Raise the Age initiative was created to keep young offenders out of the adult system. Before 2019, North Carolina was the only state that automatically treated all 16- and 17-year-olds as adults, even for minor offenses.
The new law also provides more details about how juvenile cases are transferred to adult court. This change comes after police in the Triad region noticed an increase in serious crimes committed by young people.
Human Trafficking Awareness Starting Dec. 1, the Department of Labor will begin offering human trafficking awareness training.
The new law also increases the penalties for people who solicit a prostitute for the first time and changes the definition of a trafficking victim.
For more details, you can read about House Bill 834 and House Bill 971.
