The state prosecutor comments on juvenile crime – the changes will come into force with the new law on November 1

BALTIMORE — One morning last week in the span of two hours, Baltimore police say a pair of teenagers stole or tried to steal three cars. Less than 24 hours later, they added another car theft and accident to their madness.

When the boys, ages 16 and 14, were arrested, BPD realized this wasn’t their first encounter with the pair.

In June, a 16-year-old was arrested for stealing a car. After he was caught committing the same crime just a few months later, DJS, the Department of Juvenile Welfare, still decided to let him return home to his parents.

The 14-year-old has been arrested four times this year – for armed robbery, car theft and assault. He used GPS monitoring during last week’s series of car thefts. This time DJS stopped him.

However, BPD says that when officers request that a juvenile be detained, this actually happens only about 20 to 30 percent of the time.

“It’s frustrating for the police and it’s frustrating for the community because you see the same young people over and over again behind the gate,” said Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates.

WMAR-2 News filmed this interview with Bates on Thursday. Later that night, a 66-year-old man was the victim of a brutal attack and robbery in Butchers Hill. BPD was able to track down two suspects – an 18-year-old who was arrested and charged with attempted murder, and a 15-year-old who was released despite BPD’s request to detain the juvenile. Both had been arrested before.

Here’s what the victim had to say in a Monday interview with WMAR: “I was beaten to a pulp. “I’m just furious when I found out they caught two of them and the arresting officer specifically told them not to release the 15-year-old, but DJS released him anyway within a few hours.”

But after outrage from neighbors and lawmakers alike, Bates announced Tuesday afternoon that the 15-year-old had been charged with attempted murder. He will answer like an adult.

“While we did not make this decision lightly, the gravity of the alleged crime and the threat to public safety require us to act. This type of violence has no place in our community and we remain committed to ensuring a bright future for our young people while recognizing the need for accountability and justice for victims,” ​​Bates said. “Let me be clear: If you or your comrades decide to attack, stomp on, or hit someone in the head in Baltimore, my office will deal with it with the seriousness it deserves.”

Bates accused DJS officers of not reviewing all the evidence before releasing the teenager, but only the robbery charge.

“If I’m not mistaken, I wasn’t there, but if I’m not mistaken, they (BPD) wrote a robbery. However, the frustration is that the fact sheet, which everyone should read, clearly violates the recorded facts that would indicate that this was more than just a robbery. He talks about the gun and some of the injuries the victim suffered.

Controversy over the release of juveniles suspected of committing violent crimes has become a familiar story over the past two years, following the passage of juvenile justice reforms in 2022 that placed an emphasis on protecting young offenders.

But in a month, a new law on juvenile delinquency will come into force, which will reverse some of these reforms. Here are some of the big changes that may have made a difference in recent carjacking and assault cases:

If a minor registered on GPS monitoring runs away, DJS is obliged to report it to the court, the prosecutor’s office and the child’s representative within 24 hours. Previously, it was at the discretion of the DJS officer. For example, if a child has not committed a crime while away, DJS may not report the violation.

“Then they (minors) say: I can leave and nothing will happen to me. Then they tell their other friend, you know what, I went out for three days and no one did anything to me,” Bates explained.

Also under the new law, if police ask DJS to detain a juvenile suspect, DJS has 48 hours to comply with the request. Otherwise, the case will go to a judge who will decide what to do next.

The new law also requires that if a child under 13 is charged with car theft, the DJS must agree to file a Child In Need of Supervision Petition (CINS).

“This ensures that the court will be involved in the case,” Bates explained. “Because we are seeing younger and younger people engaging in some of their criminal activity at a younger age. We don’t want to go further and “put them in jail” at such a young age, but if you provide them with the CINS process, they will now have the opportunity to have those resources and services that will turn them away from the life they lead. I’m heading towards.”

We discussed the issues surrounding CINS petitions earlier this year.

From November 1, DJS must legally enforce these changes. However, the department is also making some policy changes on its own.

Now minors brought to DJS after a brutal crime, but released, will have to be subject to GPS monitoring. Previously this was not required. Moreover, minors who commit a brutal crime while being monitored by GPS will be automatically detained after being brought to DJS.

Bates was pleased with the announcement.

“Last night, the Governor and I spoke for approximately 35-40 minutes, discussing a number of policies and policy changes being implemented by DJS. I definitely think it’s a step in the right direction, but we still have a long way to go.”

Mayor Brandon Scott also praised the decision:

“The policy changes announced today by Governor Moore’s administration are simple, common-sense adjustments that will better serve everyone – including the people of Baltimore, our law enforcement officers who diligently strive to do their jobs responsibly, and to young people themselves who believe they are on the wrong path. I want to thank Governor Moore for listening to our concerns in this area, listening to us present the issues, and responsibly making changes that will have a real impact. This is what true partnership and cooperation for public safety in Maryland – and especially Baltimore – can look like.”

Bates says he feels like his office and DJS are finally on the same page, something that wasn’t necessarily true earlier in the year when tensions between the two agencies came to a head at a Baltimore town hall. Catharine Rosenblatt, head of the juvenile division at the State Attorney’s Office, complained that DJS acted as a “gatekeeper” for all juvenile cases and that the agency did not refer to her all the cases it should have referred to her.

In June, the source of some of the misunderstandings was identified – a typo. Here’s how a BPD spokesman described what happened:

“BPD learned that we had not received admission decisions based on referrals sent to the Department of Juvenile Welfare. Upon further review, we learned that we had received the wrong email address to send referral cases to. BPD did not receive an email response resulting from invalid email address In June, it was discovered that the email address provided by DJS was invalid and BPD updated all required forms and notified the entire agency of the correct DJS email address.

Bates said the invalid email address issue had led to a “massive backlog” and all agencies were now scrambling to clear the backlog.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Joint Republican Caucus sent a letter to Governor Moore calling for the immediate removal of DJS Secretary Vincent Schiraldi.