They expressed frustration with repeat juvenile offenders.
Westminster, Md (KM) The issue of juvenile crime was the topic of a meeting earlier this month between law enforcement officials and the Acting Secretary of the Department of Juvenile Services, Betsy Fox Tolentino. Carroll County Sheriff Jim Dewees is the President of the Maryland Sheriff’s Association. “Members of the Maryland Sheriff’s Association were loud and clear that Governor Moore needed to make a change to leadership at DJS,” he said during a briefing following the meeting. “The policies of the former secretary were extreme in putting lives of citizens in jeopardy, including the lives of the juveniles they were charged with holding accountable and protecting.”
DJS Secretary Vincent Schiraldi stepped down from the job this year.
Dewees says law enforcement had complaints about recidivism among juvenile offenders. “Sheriff’s offices throughout the state of Maryland were beyond frustrated with repeat juvenile offenders being coddled by DJS,” he said. “We saw very little accountability with the same juvenile offenders who often able to commit violent crimes without real consequences every day of the week, and sometimes twice on Sundays.”
“It was not just law enforcement begging for leadership changes at DJS, but legislators in Annapolis, mayors, county executives and other public leaders, “Sheriff Dewees continued. “But more importantly, the citizens that were victims of juvenile crime were begging for change and accountability.”
But Dewees says he and other law enforcement officials made progress in their discussion with Acting Secretary Tolentino. “We were encouraged by her openness to work with keeping the public safe, and her plans to work through an organization that needs, in our opinion, a complete overhaul in policies and practices, that she’s committed and understand her responsibilities,” he said.
Tolentino told the law enforcement officials that she’s ready to work on dealing with the problems of juvenile crime. “The truth is the solutions to crime and violence in our community come from working hand and hand with community members: families, our young people, law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders across Maryland for real sustainable strategies,” she said.
As she takes over the Department of Juvenile Services, Tolentino is facing a problem of law enforcement picking up the same juvenile offenders for serious offenses, seemingly with little recourse about being handed off to the DJS. In addition, there’s also the problem of putting juvenile offenders in adult detention centers when there is evidence that this leads to behavioral health challenges, and the likelihood of recidivism.
By Kevin McManus