State’s juvenile justice system must embrace accountability

The Juvenile Justice Center in Baltimore. Nia Meyers/Staff

This month, Maryland’s juvenile justice system reached a critical inflection point with the resignation of Secretary Vincent Schiraldi from the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS). We hope his departure will provide relief from the growing youth crime crisis — a crisis driven by an overreliance on ideology and not on results.

Secretary Schiraldi would frequently say that we should not use a “ham-handed” policy to guide our system. We agree. The reality is that Schiraldi and the ideology-driven Democratic extremists who control the state are the parties guilty of the ham-handed approach.

Banning law enforcement from interviewing and detaining youth whose parents have consented is just one example of failed policy. Maryland youth now know that there are no consequences for their actions. This is why we see individual offenders go on to steal multiple cars over the course of days or weeks. “See you tomorrow, officer!” is the quote officers in the Essex Precinct have received when dropping offenders off to their parents after a car theft. These unhinged policies aren’t working — and everyone could see it, except Vincent Schiraldi.

For nearly two years, the Maryland Freedom Caucus has raised concerns about the dangerous trajectory of juvenile justice policy in Maryland. Under Secretary Schiraldi’s leadership, the department doubled down on a so-called zero-accountability model — even in cases involving repeat violent offenders. These policies may have won praise from liberal extremist think tanks, but they left families, schools and communities reeling from the real-world consequences of totally unchecked youth violence.

We need an immediate overhaul of the juvenile justice system. There needs to be real consequences for repeat offenders. We all want a system that helps young people who are motivated to turn their lives around. We do not deny that many have faced trauma, poverty and/or neglect. But we reject zero-accountability policies that hurt public safety and increase recidivism. For too long, the balance in Maryland has tipped entirely in one direction — shielding dangerous behavior while completely ignoring the voices of victims.

During Schiraldi’s tenure, high-profile cases of juvenile crime have skyrocketed. Carjackings, armed robberies and assaults — often carried out by youths who are already well known to DJS — have become disturbingly common in Baltimore City and the surrounding counties. In many cases, offenders had been previously arrested, only to be returned to the community without meaningful intervention or supervision — often in the face of desperate pleas from the parents of these juveniles themselves. Too often, they go on to reoffend, sometimes with deadly and tragic consequences.

We have sounded the alarm time and time again. We introduced legislation to require accountability, transparency and basic consequences for repeated violent acts by juveniles. We met with community members, school administrators and law enforcement, all of whom expressed frustration at a system unmoored from reality. We challenged DJS leadership — directly and publicly — about the breakdown in public trust over these failed policies.

Our concerns were met with deflection and ideological stubbornness. Secretary Schiraldi often painted any criticism of his policies as a rejection of compassion or progress. But compassion without accountability is not justice — it is abandonment. It abandons victims who are retraumatized by an unresponsive system. It abandons the majority of young people doing the right thing, only to see their neighborhoods destabilized by a small number of violent peers. And it abandons the very youth DJS is meant to serve — by failing to provide the structure, consequences and interventions that can truly change the lives of those who desire to improve.

Gov. Wes Moore took far too long to answer the calls to remove Schiraldi. It was too late for some Maryland youth, but now we have an opportunity to course-correct. This is not about partisanship. This is about restoring basic credibility and safety to our juvenile justice system. Our call is simple: The next DJS secretary must bring a balanced, pragmatic approach — one that values rehabilitation but does not excuse violent behavior and holds youth accountable for repeated offenses.

We are calling on Interim Secretary Betsy Fox Tolentino to act boldly based on the data from Maryland and the daily reality facing our citizens. We ask her to listen not to the extremist activists and academics, but to the victims, police officers and educators who have long suffered under these failed policies. The citizens of Maryland need her to protect public safety first and foremost, while giving young people a meaningful chance to change.

In the 2025 legislative session, we will reintroduce measures to address gaps in reportable offenses so schools know the crimes being committed by juveniles in their communities and repeal statutory prohibitions on arresting and detaining youth. We will not remain silent when safety is at stake.

To Maryland families who have felt ignored or endangered by the current system: We hear you. We are fighting for you. With leadership willing to face hard truths, our state can rebuild a juvenile justice system that is both compassionate and credible. We strongly encourage Fox Tolentino to be that leadership.

Secretary Schiraldi’s exit hopefully marks the end of a dark chapter in juvenile justice in Maryland.

The Maryland Freedom Caucus is here to support this next chapter and will remain vigilant in exposing missteps to the public and holding the administration accountable should the change we need not be the change we see.

Robin Grammer ([e-mail]) is a Republican delegate representing District 6 in Baltimore County. Lauren Arikan ([e-mail]) is a Republican delegate representing District 7B in Harford County.