Juvenile justice: Focus on rehabilitation, not retribution

One can hope for meaningful and balanced discussion as Maryland plans for reforms to the juvenile justice system (“Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and state prosecutors promise juvenile justice accountability, services,” Feb. 20). Listening to or watching social media gives one the impression that crime in Maryland, including juvenile crime, is out of control and in need of “tough on crime” measures.

Crime is clearly a major problem, but in reality, juvenile crime represents a relatively small proportion of all crime in Maryland. There has been a recent uptick in youth carjackings, but most categories of youth crime have been declining for more than a decade. However, inflammatory media attention has led to a disproportionate focus on juvenile crime.

There are reasons to improve the juvenile justice system in Maryland. We need appropriate consequences for certain crimes and for some juvenile offenders, but rolling back protections put in place with the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2022 does not seem to be a good move. The Maryland General Assembly is now working on bills that would appropriately focus on accountability, collaboration and rehabilitation in dealing with juvenile offenders. Increased use of Children in Need of Supervision petitions is also under discussion.

However, some lawmakers are calling to reverse the current law that protects youths under 13 from being charged unless they commit a violent crime.

They also seek to increase the number of chargeable offenses and strip away child interrogation protections. Protecting public safety is paramount, but for juvenile offenders, the focus should be on redemption and not retribution, and rehabilitation rather than incarceration.