The deputy lead prosecutor in the juvenile division within Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office called on lawmakers to make changes to the current laws surrounding juveniles and how young offenders are held accountable.
Pamela Chung, deputy juvenile division chief, said when the Juvenile Restoration Act was passed and began implementation, there were several concerns about the changes in the laws.
“That greatly binds us in terms of what kinds of cases we can prosecute,” she said. “The Department of Juvenile Services really is a gatekeeper with regards to cases.”
Chung described how an intake office within DJS gets the case when a juvenile is arrested and determines if charges will be filed. If it’s a lower-level misdemeanor case, Chung said a prosecutor may never see the case. The screeners within DJS have the option to send the case for diversion, she said, which is also voluntary for the young offender.
Prior to the law change, Chung said DJS could ask the prosecutor if the case could be diverted, but prosecutors had a say in felony cases. Now, Chung said DJS also makes the determination for felony charges.
“When we are talking about cases – even without crimes of violence – they are felonies and there are victims behind those types of case,” she said. “To have an agency like DJS basically making the decision about whether a case should be charged or not, it is frustrating.”
Once the cases are handed to a prosecutor, Chung said recommendations for services and programming are challenging. Within DJS, annual reports have shown inadequate programming and services being provided to the young people involved.
Regardless of someone’s criminal history or previous experiences, Chung said the types of services provided are the same; getting involved in some of those services can be even more challenging, she noted.
“If you are being supervised in the community, the department only has three programs, and those three programs are offered to every youth that comes through DJS. You could be a first-time offender and you could be a repeat offender, but you’re receiving the same services,” Chung said. “You have a youth that is in need of immediate assistance, and they don’t’ get the services for months down the road.”
Unfortunately, we are moving toward less accountability and with rehabilitation it’s about services. But when we are lacking in services, really how are we rehabilitating anyone?
In an exclusive interview with FOX45 News, new Secretary Vincent Schiraldi spoke about his review of the agency, going to various facilities around the state, and noticing some of the lackluster programming and safety concerns that was outlined in the 2022 annual review of DJS done within the Maryland Attorney General’s Office.
“We don’t work as well as we could with people in communities who are working with young people every day. We don’t work as well as we could with law enforcement, and I think that’s an area we need to improve on. It’s going to be one of my biggest priorities,” Schiraldi said.
“What we need to do is reach out and start to engage people in their communities. There are people in communities who are coaching kids, there are ministers, people on a public safety committee at the housing projects, we need to partner up with them. Not only do they know which kids need the most help and the most supervision, but they also know what will work in Salisbury and in Catonsville,” Schiraldi continued.
For now, Chung said lawmakers need to take another look at the juvenile restoration law because she said there are holes in the language that make it more difficult for prosecutors to ensure public safety is maintained.
“I don’t think a lot of people understand how the juvenile system actually works. People have a lot of ideas and beliefs when it comes to juveniles, but I think we need to really sit down together and talk about it before anything gets enacted,” she said.
“We need to get rid of the Juvenile [Restoration] Act. It’s an uphill battle for us because we are fighting our way trying to ensure public safety, but the way rehabilitative part and the accountability part aren’t being met, then public safety is at risk.”