BALTIMORE — Public safety was the topic of discussion during a community conversation held by Baltimore City councilman Isaac Schleifer and Baltimore County councilman Izzy Patoka on Wednesday night.
Residents were asked to come and talk to a panel and share their most pressing concerns in regard to crime in their communities.
The panel included Acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley, Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough, Baltimore City Sheriff Sam Cogen, Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan Bates and Baltimore County States Attorney Scott Shellenberger.
Former Mayor of Baltimore Sheila Dixon and Councilman Zeke Cohen was also in attendance in the audience.
During introductions, each panelist spoke on the partnerships between law officials in the city and county, communicating with the public that there is more growth ahead.
The main topic of discussion, taking a regional approach to crime.
After introductions, the panel opened the door to questions from the community.
The most brought up point, juvenile crime.
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Residents from both the city and county asked about what can be done to hold juveniles accountable for crimes like carjackings, or even when guns appear on school grounds.
Bates took the microphone first, voicing his frustrations about the juvenile justice system and the long processes they go through in almost a years span.
Shellenberger then spoke on how he testified against the juvenile justice reform act, claiming that the system is broken but he feels that legislators and the head of the Department of Juvenile
Services is listening.
"So to clarify, unless they kill us, nothing happens to them," a city resident said.
Another concern raised was drugs and their impact on crime, specifically in Baltimore County.
The citizen that raised the concern stated there should be 24/7, 365 addictive treatment available for those that struggle. Shellenberger agreed, saying if there was anyone in the legislature that would draft a bill like that, he would testify in it's favor.
Other concerns residents brought up included street racing, the open-air drug market and carjackings, which according to data from BPD, is down compared to last year.
