Juvenile delinquents arrested on weekends will no longer have to wait until Monday to appear before a judge, reducing the amount of time they spend among older criminal suspects.

The change in policy was announced yesterday by Mayor Bloomberg, who said returning young teens to their families is the best way to get them on the right path.

“To take a young person and put them into a situation where all they can do is learn bad things or be preyed upon just is not in society’s interest,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “It’s not humane and it doesn’t advance the goal of making our society safer.”

Currently, a 15-year-old who is arrested for stealing an iPod from another kid on a Friday night would be detained all weekend and given a hearing on the next business day, while a 17-year-old accused of the same crime would be processed in the adult criminal court that is open on nights and weekends. Beginning on May 31, juvenile offenders will be seen by the same judges who now see adults, Mr. Bloomberg said. New York City becomes the first in the state to begin processing juveniles on weekends, but follows other states that have already done so.

In New Jersey, juveniles are required to have a detention hearing no later than the following morning after being taken into custody.

Some counties in Nevada require a hearing within 24 hours, depending on the case and the population of the county, and New Mexico also requires a hearing within a day.