BALTIMORE — Baltimore City legislators are raising concerns about how the police and the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services address minors suspected of violent crimes in a letter sent to DJS Secretary Vinny Schiraldi and Police Commissioner Richard Worley on Saturday.
Inside the letter, they express that they are "deeply concerned" by a recent trend of juvenile suspects in violent crimes being released shortly after arrest without explanation.
Today, @SenBillFerg, @RobbynLewis46th, @LukeClippinger, @CMZekeCohen, and I wrote to @VinSchiraldi from DJS and BPD Commissioner Richard Worley about a disturbing trend involving youth violence.
— Delegate Mark Edelson (@ElectEdelson) November 4, 2023
This should never happen again. Our communities deserve better. pic.twitter.com/T8fMpFAZEO
The letter adds that this method of handling these crimes not only poses a safety risk to the public but also doesn't provide any accountability, justice, or support services for rehabilitation.
This comes three days after a woman was assaulted and robbed near the corner of East Lombard Street and South Patterson Park Avenue.
The suspects in that case, a 12 and 14-year-old boy, had taken her car keys during the assault. They were arrested later that night and shortly returned home by DJS officers, according to the release.
In response, BPD states that "while we agree that the suspects should have been held in custody in order to protect the public, BPD was not responsible for the release of these individuals."
BPD even went as far as requesting city leadership to have an open and honest discussion on whether process, policy, and legislative updates could ensure better outcomes for residents.
The Baltimore Police Department is aware of a recent letter sent questioning whether the department improperly released two juveniles following an assault and robbery in our Southeast District. Upon internal review of the incident, the department firmly believes that our officers not only acted within policy, but we commend our officers for quickly apprehending those responsible for these heinous acts, and transporting them to Juvenile Booking for proper processing.
The department expects our officers to engage with our residents to both prevent and solve crimes. In this case, our officers and a community member swiftly and successfully collaborated to review the evidence needed to identify those responsible for this violent act and facilitate the arrests. Our officers were proactive and professional in their interactions throughout this incident.
While we agree that the suspects should have been held in custody in order to protect the public, BPD was not responsible for the release of these individuals. We must come together to honestly and openly discuss whether process, policy and/or legislative updates could ensure better outcomes for our residents. BPD is absolutely committed to continuing to evolve into a world class law enforcement agency by adopting policies that are industry best practices, providing state of the art training and continuous self-evaluation and correction. Moreover, we welcome the opportunity to meet with our elected leaders, the Department of Juvenile Services and the State’s Attorney to discuss this incident in particular as well as any and all possible solutions to the overall issues associated with juvenile crime.
WMAR reached out to the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services in which they responded:
DJS takes any allegations of breach of policy or protocol seriously. We are reviewing the matter and will take appropriate actions based on the results of the review.
Stay tuned to WMAR for more updates.
