Community discussions on the pressing issue of juvenile crime brought Baltimore residents face-to-face with state and city officials at the Southeast Baltimore Juvenile Justice Summit, aimed at addressing concerns and formulating strategies to combat youth-related offenses. Among the attendees were Acting Secretary for Maryland’s Department of Juvenile Services Betsy Fox Tolentino, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, and representatives from the Baltimore City Police Department, including Major Albert Dellarocca and Lisa Reynolds, Chief of Youth and Community Partnerships at BPD.
One of the key topics up for debate, according to CBS News, was how to effectively monitor and check-in on juveniles placed under electronic surveillance – Tolentino laid out the department’s approach stating, “We’re doing active scans at 11 o’clock at night, 1:30 in the morning and 4:30 in the morning, not only to just wait for an alert, but do an active scan to see where those young people are,” she also highlighted a policy change “if arrested while on electronic monitoring, they will be detained, and they will go to court the very next day.” This policy shift highlights an initiative to address the issue of repeat offenders and the effective tracking of juveniles by the Department of Juvenile Services, as concerned neighbors have questioned the follow-through on monitoring and how the state intends to bolster public safety.
Meanwhile, WBALTV shed light on the shortcomings within the juvenile services highlighted by Tolentino, including the “chronic understaffing” inherited from previous administration and the restructuring measures such as redirecting some positions within her department to better serve youth in residential facilities, it was stated “Bringing resources (back) that haven’t been here for a decade,” reflecting a proactive stance in rectifying systemic deficiencies…