Last year, Maryland lawmakers passed the Juvenile Justice Reform Act. The act says that no child under 13 years-old can be charged with a crime and no child under age 10 can be charged with a juvenile offense. For children under 13 who are charged with a felony crime, the maximum sentence is 1 year of probation, though this can be extended in the case of some crimes. Lawmakers also passed the Child Interrogation Protection Act which prevents police from speaking to a child until they have met with an attorney.
This sweeping reform was celebrated at the time as a big step forward, one that would reduce racial disparities in the justice system.
The new reforms will help reduce the number of young people subjected to juvenile court and improve the experiences of young people who continue to be prosecuted. Prior to these changes, Maryland had no set minimum age for prosecuting young people. In 2020, for example, the state prosecuted 376 children under the age of 13 — and more than 70% these children were Black. The year also saw over 1,000 additional arrests of children under the age of 13 who were not prosecuted. Under the new law, 90% of these cases would have spared the children involved from being arrested.
For youth 13 and older, the new law provides the state’s juvenile justice agency greater discretion in choosing diversion — a change that aligns with data indicating that youth who participate in diversion programs are less likely to reoffend than their peers who are not diverted. For example: Department of Juvenile Services staff will no longer need the local state’s attorney approval to divert youth charged with non-violent felonies, such as breaking and entering. The new law also establishes a pathway for the court to return a case to the Department of Juvenile Services intake for assessment and services rather than prosecution.
The wisdom of this new approach has been facing scrutiny as Washington DC and Baltimore have been experiencing a surge in serious crimes committed by very young offenders. In Washington an 11-year-old was charged in a series of robberies and, separately, a 12-year-old was connected to a string of carjackings and assaults.
Because these crimes happened in DC they weren’t covered by Maryland’s juvenile justice reforms, but crimes involving young teens are taking place in Maryland. For instance, a 15-year-old called “Baby K” was arrested for attempted the murder of a 14-year-old on a school bus. Because of the reforms police weren’t able to question Baby K despite video showing him putting a gun to the other child’s head.
At a press conference announcing the arrest of Baby K, a 15-year-old accused of attempting to kill a student on a school bus, Prince George’s County officials voiced their frustrations over a slew of new state laws.
“Under the new laws in the state of Maryland, it has become more difficult for police to question young people about anything,” said Prince George’s County Police Chief Malik Aziz.
“Have you been able to question Baby K?” questioned a reporter.
“The answer is that we could not,” replied Aziz.
Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said of the current situation, “It’s becoming more and more difficult to hold juveniles accountable.” Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler said, “We’re living in a time where, unfortunately, legislators, lawmakers have decided that it’s better to support the lawbreakers rather than those who are enforcing the law.” In January, the law prevented bringing charges against a 12-year-old who brought a gun to school.
A 12-year-old Anne Arundel County student will face no criminal charges after allegedly bringing a handgun and ammunition to school Thursday.
Police blamed the decision on House Bill 459 that passed the Maryland General Assembly back in June of 2022.
After this, police released a long list of other crimes allegedly committed by juveniles who could not be charged:
That prompted the police department to release a long list of juvenile suspects who were tracked down by investigators but were never charged including cases of assault, drug charges and sex offenses.
It’s clear many police departments across the state don’t agree with allowing teens who commit crimes to just walk away.
The situation is bad enough that now legislators are considering taking another look at the reforms.
A year and a half after lawmakers passed juvenile justice reforms, they’ve called a hearing to examine if their reforms are causing more violence than they’re preventing.
Prosecutors in Maryland are leading the charge to amend the new reform laws, which bar anyone 13 and under from being criminally charged.
“They come in, we can’t detain them, they’re back in the community. The next day, they get picked up for a second one, they’re back in the community the next day,” complained John McCarthy, Montgomery County State’s Attorney.
The plan is to discuss new changes to the reforms in September. Here’s the report from WBFF Baltimore. As you’ll see, one political science professor from the community college of Baltimore suggested this was just an effort to make it look like lawmakers are doing something when in fact nothing is likely to happen this year. “I think a lot of this is to placate the public,” John Dedie told WBFF.
Read the full article here