Two teens caught up in justice system have lessons for Maryland

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, celebrates with the French soccer team and their coach during a reception at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on Monday, after French players won the Russia 2018 World Cup final football match.

LThis year, Dawnta Harris, 16, was charged with first-degree murder for allegedly running over Baltimore County Police Officer Amy Caprio in a stolen Jeep while facilitating home burglaries.

Two years ago, Lavar Douglas, 18, was shot by a Coppin State University police officer after allegedly opening fire on a moving car.

Two Baltimore City teens: one charged with killing a police officer, the other killed by a police officer. Both had previous encounters with the juvenile justice system.

Dawnta Harris was arrested four times in six months and attended a juvenile court hearing less than two weeks before he was arrested and charged with the murder of Officer Caprio. Lavar Douglas was charged as an adult when he was17 for illegally possessing a handgun, though his case was ultimately transferred back to juvenile court. We don’t know what happened in the juvenile court, but we do know that he was arrested again and charged with selling drugs. He was out on bail, awaiting trial when he died.

Both of these young men had been on someone’s radar not long before these tragedies occurred. There were opportunities to change their trajectories, but those opportunities were missed. Why? For too long, the answer has been “I don’t know” or “It’s someone else’s fault.” This is unacceptable and must change.

In a report released last month, “Fact Check: A Survey of Available Data on Juvenile Crime in Baltimore City,” the Abell Foundation analyzed data on juvenile crime, arrests and outcomes in Baltimore City. Researchers found that the number of juvenile arrests for violent crime has gone up and that most cases involving youth charged as adults (for committing violent crimes) are transferred back to juvenile court for disposition: 67 percent of cases in 2017 — up from just 19 percent in 2013. Additionally, case outcomes depend largely on the judge assigned to them, creating an environment for judge-shopping and inequitable application of the law. The report’s central finding, however, was that there is a dearth of publicly available data related to juvenile violent crime, including information on how well our systems and institutions are working to prevent it.

Last legislative session, we introduced legislation that would have created a Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council to convene stakeholders, require the reporting of data, study relevant best practices and make recommendations regarding improvements to the juvenile justice system. The legislation would have provided a pathway for national organizations that specialize in juvenile justice reform to facilitate progress in Maryland and specifically called for greater transparency But the competition in the World Cup is related to the results of complaints against different. Here, the teams representing juveniles and the success of our juvenile ike many other Americans, I tuned nations are comprised of players with justice system to divert young people from into the finals of the World Cup, but specific ties to that nation. In the World subsequent delinquency. In other words, it not so much to watch soccer as to Cup, the regulations are that a team’s would have helped us understand what discover why it has such worldwide athletes must be part of that nation by birth happens to the youth who are arrested in popularity. I have been a lifelong fan of or naturalization, have a parent or grandour neighborhoods. Do they get the baseball and football. I have some interest parent born there or have lived there for at support that they need to change their in basketball, although I have difficulty least five years as a continuous resident paths? Do they reoffend? Do they successidentifying with athletes who have after the age of 18.This identity engenders fully re-enter the community? And how kneecaps higher than my head. emotional ties that were on display for all

As for soccer, I have never felt a desire to to see. are we measuring success? follow a sport where a 2-1 score is seen as a But there is another area in which the In the past, we have been too quick to blowout and where players run around in citizenry of nations compete so openly and blame single parts of a complex juvenile shorts banging a ball with their heads and fervently. That is in war. justice system. We focus frenetic reform feet. I feel for them. Don’t they just wish, In essence, the World Cup team compeon extreme cases where we find the most once in a while, to grab that ball by their tition is similar to war. Wars are fought egregious missteps or errors. This often hands and fling it into the goal for a score? between nations by their citizenry, and takes the form of blaming prosecutors or

So why do millions — no, billions — of winning or losing on the battlefield bethe judges or the Department of Juvenile people go so crazy over soccer? Why the comes part of national identity and pride. Services or the school system or the police. passion for a sport that requires an The World Cup also arouses nationalisThis targeted, reactive approach yields unremitting attention span while waiting tic pride, but it does so in a positive way. A attempts at quick policy fixes to explain for that rare goal? soccer match becomes war without the away tragic incidents.

After watching the World Cup, I must blood. Instead of bullets and bombs, teams The key takeaway from the Abell admit I still don’t know what makes soccer use a ball. Instead of body counts, there are Foundation’s report, though, is that our so appealing to so many. There were points on a scoreboard. approach will continue to fail if we do not moments of tension and stellar performOn one hand, it is strange that so much have comprehensive data to know what’s ances, and the lead up to France’s final win national pride can go into a game. But on working and what’s not. Reforming Marywas dramatic. But for me, I’ll still take an the other hand, it is reassuring that when land’s juvenile justice system isn’t about Orioles-Yankees game on a warm summer the game ends and the winner is declared, finding one broken spoke in a wheel. evening. everyone in these nations accepts the Effective reform will require actual

What the World Cup finals did get me to results (or most everyone). knowledge of how each of the contribthinking about was not so much the appeal What if we could resolve other national uting institutions functions and, more of soccer but the nature of World Cup differences on playing fields instead of on importantly, how each part works tocompetition itself. killing fields? gether with the core purpose of improving

In most sports, fans root for teams that The answer of course is that war outcomes for young people and communirepresent their cities, states or regions,ties.butresolvesdifferencesanddisputesbyonly few if any of these teams’ players are from one method: sheer force. A war usually Dawnta Harris’ and Lavar Douglas’ these areas. ends when one side so defeats and stories make clear that we have a lot to learn and a long way to go in order to improve public safety and outcomes for young people in Baltimore City and across the state of Maryland. We can do better. But we won’t unless and until we make the choice to bring all parts of the system together, use data to make decisions and establish ongoing performance measures for the future.