Maryland lawmakers clash over governor's juvenile justice bill
Maryland General Assembly holds hearings over governor's Juvenile Justice Reform program
A panel of Maryland’s top prosecutors are telling state lawmakers the juvenile crime problem in the state is hitting alarming levels. Hearings began in the General Assembly Thursday over Gov. Wes Moore’s new Juvenile Justice Reform bills but some Democrats are already pushing back.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Just one day after Governor Wes Moore declared public safety as his top priority, lawmakers began hearings on new bills aimed at fixing Maryland's juvenile justice system.
But while prosecutors from Montgomery and Prince George’s County testified in support of the bill, some Democrats are pushing back.
The size of this hearing mirrors the size of this problem.
State attorneys from around Maryland were in Maryland’s capitol Thursday, saying they desperately need help to reverse a tidal wave of violent juvenile crime.
The Accountability Rehabilitation and Collaboration Act reduces the age at which prosecutors can charge violent juvenile criminals, reforms the division of juvenile services, and gives law enforcement more access to juvenile criminal histories.
Montgomery and Prince George’s state attorneys John McCarthy and Aisha Braveboy testified in favor of the bill.
"We won’t solve every carjacking in Montgomery County but in the cases we actually made arrests, 70% were kids arrested for carjackings in Montgomery County are juveniles," McCarthy said.
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Calling crime fighting his "administration’s top priority," Maryland Governor Wes Moore used his State of the State speech to highlight new public safety bills.
"We need accountability," Braveboy said. "Our community is screaming out for accountability and young people are screaming for accountability, and they need these services as well!"
But Democratic leaders and Gov. Wes Moore have touted the reforms as a way to increase the ability to prosecute the most violent repeat juvenile criminals.
Some Democratic lawmakers and community organizers say it goes too far.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore unveils new juvenile crime bills
Maryland Governor Wes Moore joined with General Assembly leaders in Annapolis Wednesday to announce a new series of proposed laws he says will fix long-standing problems in the state’s juvenile justice system, and cut down on crime by young people. FOX 5's Tom Fitzgerald has the story.
Several members said the focus of any reforms should be on rehabilitation and intervention, instead of punishment.
"We made a clear effort to eliminate the youngest children from being exposed to the juvenile justice system, and now you’ve gone ahead and brought them back into the system," said Del. Charlotte Crutchfield told FOX 5.
"We think what the bill does is that it shrinks the opportunity for diversion by looking at each individual incident on its own merits, instead of getting all these young people swept up in the juvenile justice system," added Dayvon Love, a youth community organizer.
Republicans who are in the minority say while the governor delivered a strong message on juvenile justice reform in his State of the State address Thursday, they are concerned the bills will be watered down and weakened if they finally make it to the governor’s desk.