Andrea Reeb, a New Mexico state representative, announced her intention to introduce a bipartisan bill aimed at reforming the juvenile justice system. This initiative, supported by House Republicans and District Attorney Sam Bregman, comes in response to increasing youth crime rates. The announcement was made via a press release on January 26.
"I am very proud to collaborate with DA Bregman on commonsense reforms to New Mexico's juvenile code," said Reeb. "I've seen violent and felony crimes being committed by children. I am very proud of the bipartisanship that has been achieved with this legislation."
House Bill 134 proposes amendments to New Mexico's Delinquency Act to address the rise in juvenile crime. It has been forwarded to the House Consumer & Public Affairs Committee and the House Judiciary Committee for further evaluation. The bill seeks to ensure that serious juvenile offenders face appropriate consequences while enhancing public safety through strengthened sentencing guidelines, closing legal loopholes, and equipping law enforcement with better tools for handling repeat offenders.
According to the New Mexico Department of Health, the state has one of the highest youth homicide rates in the United States, consistently exceeding the national average for most of the decade leading up to 2002. Homicide ranks as the second leading cause of death among youth aged 15–24 in New Mexico, with firearms involved in 79% of cases nationwide. Additionally, New Mexico's youth suicide rate remains significantly higher than the national average, nearly doubling it in 2002 at 19.2 per 100,000.
Bregman expressed concerns about New Mexico's juvenile justice system's ability to hold young offenders accountable. "The juvenile criminal justice system in New Mexico is broken," he said. Currently, only 61 juveniles are detained despite there being 319 cases involving youth and handguns and 20 murder indictments over the past 18 months. Bregman highlighted an example where "a 15-year-old could be driving around with his friends in a stolen car with 10 fentanyl pills and an AR-15 and likely wouldn’t spend a single night" in detention.
Reeb's website notes that she is a Clovis native and longtime prosecutor who served as the Ninth Judicial District Attorney with a conviction rate of 97%. She specialized in child crimes and high-profile corruption cases and has actively advocated for crime prevention legislation since 2014.
