BALTIMORE — Continued crime committed by youth has led to renewed calls for the removal of Vincent Schiraldi, Maryland's Secretary of Juvenile Services (DJS).
This latest effort comes from a group of nine Baltimore neighborhood association leaders.
They sent a letter to Governor Wes Moore accusing Schiraldi of "committing malpractice by failing to detain and effectively supervise violent juvenile offenders who are committing violent acts."
The group cites the 2022 Juvenile Justice Reform Act that essentially took power to prosecute minors away from locally elected states attorneys, effectively handing those duties to DJS.
Neighborhood leaders claim Schiraldi has implemented policies where repeat juvenile offenders are either let loose early or not detained at all.
RELATED: How often do kids get released from juvenile services in Baltimore?
In their letter to Moore, the group cites data obtained by WMAR-2 News from a Public Information Act request earlier this year, that shows significant decreases in detentions between 2021 and 2023.
"DJS policy is out-of-line with what any rational person would find acceptable such as not considering robbery as a violent crime," the leaders write to Moore. "Secretary Schiraldi has a history of not considering Public Safety in his decisions and these outrageous incidents will surely happen again and again because through his DJS policy and practices, juveniles who commit violent crimes and pose a significant public safety risk are not being detained or effectively supervised."
There are many recent examples of this happening.
Last month, without provocation, two teens knocked a 66-year-old victim unconscious, stomping his head into the pavement in Butcher's Hill. It was all caught on camera.
One 18-year-old suspect was charged with attempted murder, while the second suspect, who is only 15, was immediately released from custody and allowed back on the streets. Following public outcry, the teen was eventually charged as an adult for attempted murder.
The next day, a local business owner was sent to the emergency room after being attacked by another group of juveniles.
Earlier this month a 17-year-old was shot and killed in Canton while trying to rob his would-be victim at gunpoint.
This year, Canton and other neighborhoods in Southeast Baltimore have experienced a 100% increase in murders, and a more than 200% increase in violent crime overall.
Baltimore isn't the only area with concerns.
Last week, a 17-year-old Howard High School student was charged with a man's murder in Columbia.
Turns out he was already under DJS supervision, wearing an ankle monitor for a previous crime committed.
The growing calls for Schiraldi's ouster is not the first attempt by community members.
Over 2,600 Patterson Park citizens have signed a petition to recall the Secretary, whose past has come under question.
MORE: State lawmakers respond to community petition to remove DJS Secretary Schiraldi
As previously reported by WMAR-2 News, Schiraldi once published the book,“Mass Supervision: Probation, Parole, and the Illusion of Safety and Freedom,” in which he calls for the “incremental abolition" of the parole and probation system, describing it as a “recidivism trap.”
Prior to being appointed DJS Secretary in 2023 by Moore, Schiraldi served as commissioner of New York City's Department of Probation and later for their Department of Corrections. In the past he's written about his experience in corrections urging an end to mass incarceration, stating how it reflects the nation’s "racist and destructive fixation on imprisonment.”
In their closing plea, community leaders wrote "we are outraged, exhausted with and traumatized by the dysfunction of Vincent Schiraldi’s DJS. With our signatures, we, the undersigned signal our full and total lack of confidence and trust in the leadership of Secretary Vincent Schiraldi and make clear our demand: We call on you as Maryland Governor to remove Secretary Schiraldi immediately."
Moore, so far, has avoided commenting on Schiraldi's job status.
