NORWICH – Last week police from different agencies arrested nearly 20 youths in unrelated crimes in the Chenango area. Their crimes ranged from consumption of alcohol to 2nd degree burglary and 3rd degree arson.

Generally, a person is considered a youthful offender if they are between the ages of 14 and 18. They generally cannot have a prior juvenile adjudication or felony conviction against them, and the crime committed can’t be a class A felony such as rape, murder or other severe felony. The statutes regarding youthful offenders are fairly complicated, and there is room for a number of exceptions; however, these are the general guidelines. An adjudication carries the same punishment as a regular conviction but is not recorded as a conviction on the youth’s record.