NYPD gang database faces elimination just as violent migrant youth gangs terrorize Times Square, with five juvenile members of Los Diablos 42 assaulting police officers while adult gang leaders exploit New York’s lenient juvenile justice laws to recruit child criminals.
Key Takeaways
- Five teenage members of Los Diablos 42, a migrant youth gang affiliated with Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, were arrested for assaulting NYPD officers in Times Square during an attempted robbery.
- The NYC City Council is considering abolishing the NYPD gang database, a crucial tool that helped identify these suspects, despite pleas from law enforcement officials.
- New York’s “Raise the Age” law is enabling adult gang leaders to recruit minors who face minimal consequences in Family Court even after committing multiple violent crimes.
- Juvenile crime in NYC has reached unprecedented levels, with gun arrests involving suspects under 18 nearly doubling from 7% in 2018 to 12% currently.
- The NYPD has made 240 arrests related to Los Diablos 42, involving just 37 individuals – demonstrating the revolving-door nature of the current juvenile justice system.
Times Square Chaos: Migrant Teen Gang’s Brutal Attack on Police
New York City’s Times Square has become a battleground as migrant youth gangs coordinate brazen attacks against police and civilians alike. Five members of Los Diablos 42, a youth gang connected to the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, were recently arrested for assaulting NYPD officers during a “wolf pack style robbery” attempt. The teenage assailants, ranging in age from 12 to 17, utilized makeshift weapons in their attack. Police are still searching for three additional suspects involved in the incident, highlighting the ongoing threat posed by these organized juvenile criminals who operate with near impunity under New York’s current laws.
“Whose side are you on?” demanded Mayor Eric Adams, challenging City Council members who are pushing to eliminate the NYPD gang database despite its critical role in identifying the Times Square attackers. The mayor’s frustration is palpable as he witnesses his city’s deterioration while progressive politicians actively hamper law enforcement efforts. This database has proven instrumental in tracking the activities of Los Diablos 42, with police making 240 arrests related to the gang, involving just 37 identified individuals – a clear indication of repeat offenders cycling through a broken system designed to protect rather than punish juvenile criminals.
Database Debate: Law Enforcement Tools Under Progressive Attack
As violent migrant youth gangs wreak havoc on New York City streets, the City Council is paradoxically working to eliminate one of the NYPD’s most effective tools for combating gang violence. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch has vocally opposed this move, emphasizing the database’s crucial role in identifying and apprehending gang members. The timing of this misguided initiative could not be worse, coming immediately after juvenile gang members launched a brazen attack on police officers in the heart of Times Square – an incident that demonstrates precisely why such intelligence tools are essential.
“It absolutely defies common sense that our City Council is looking to abolish this database. We need our City Council to stop legislating against our cops and to start legislating for public safety,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
City Council spokesman Rendy Desamours fired back with empty rhetoric, accusing the mayor’s office of making “baseless accusations instead of focusing on partnership.” This deflection typifies the progressive response to legitimate public safety concerns – attacking those who identify problems while offering no viable solutions. Meanwhile, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrived at a precinct seeking custody of one suspect, but NYPD officers followed city protocol by refusing to hand him over, further demonstrating how sanctuary policies protect criminal migrants at the expense of public safety.
Juvenile Justice Failures: Criminals-in-Training
New York’s juvenile justice system has become a training ground for career criminals, with alarming cases highlighting its fundamental failures. A 14-year-old has been arrested two dozen times in less than two years yet remains free due to his age, while a 12-year-old with six arrests also walks the streets without consequences. These are not isolated incidents but symptoms of a systematic breakdown. The Crossroads Juvenile Center in Brooklyn is now overflowing with young offenders, yet the revolving door of Family Court continues to release dangerous juveniles back into communities where they victimize law-abiding citizens.
“We are arresting juveniles at the highest level than we have ever seen before,” NYPD Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael Lipetri told The Post. “We are seeing juveniles commit five, six, seven robberies. Most of them get dealt with under the Family Court statutes.
The statistics paint a disturbing picture of this crisis. Gun arrests involving suspects under 18 have jumped from 7% in 2018 to 12% currently, a direct consequence of the “Raise the Age” law that removed 16 and 17-year-olds from adult criminal courts. This well-intentioned but deeply flawed legislation has created a protected class of juvenile offenders who understand they face minimal consequences for even the most serious crimes. Adult gang leaders now strategically recruit minors specifically because they know these young criminals will likely be back on the streets within hours of arrest.
Border Crisis Meets Failed Policy: The Perfect Criminal Storm
The confluence of Biden’s open-border policies and New York’s soft-on-crime approach has created ideal conditions for transnational gangs like Tren de Aragua to flourish. Venezuelan gang members have established a foothold in New York City, using juvenile affiliates to carry out crimes while minimizing risk to adult leaders. These foreign criminal organizations quickly identified and exploited the weaknesses in New York’s juvenile justice system, recognizing that young offenders face virtually no meaningful consequences regardless of how many crimes they commit or how violent their actions become.
“Raise the Age does nothing to curtail criminal behavior in children, does nothing to protect victims from crime,” according to a law enforcement source. Clearly they’re unfazed by any faux deterrent the law offers.
Family Court judges consistently prioritize the “best interests” of juvenile criminals over public safety, hesitating to detain even the most dangerous repeat offenders. When paired with the abolition of cash bail for most offenses, this creates a system where juvenile criminals learn that crime carries little risk. Meanwhile, Governor Hochul’s administration continues defending these failed policies while citizens bear the consequences of their misguided ideological experiment. What began as well-intentioned reform has devolved into a public safety disaster that empowers foreign criminal gangs and endangers New Yorkers.
