Central Police District November 2005 Meeting

At the 10 November 2005 Central Police District Community Relations meeting we had two main speakers, Judge Martin Welch of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City and John Yates of North American Family Initiative.

Judge Welch told us that Baltimore City is the largest and busiest juvenile court in the State. There were 73,000 juvenile court hearings last year and about 10,000 juvenile arrests each year and 7,500 new cases every year.

The rubrics of juvenile justice goes back to the turn of the century. There were laws about cruelty to animals before they talked bout children. 1904 was the first Juvenile Court in Maryland and the second oldest in the country. The Juvenile Court in Maryland used to be in the bowels of the Clarence Mitchell Building. Kids used to be booked in the Police District. Now they all are brought to the Juvenile Center at Gay and Front streets. This puts everybody in one place. These offices work 24/7. The State Attorney’s Office works two shifts five days a week.

The courts make decisions based on the best interest of the child and least restrictive placement. The police make arrests based on when they believe a crime has been committed. The child is turned over to the Department of Juvenile Services. Then the case may go to the State Attorney’s Office. The Police Department and the State Attorney’s Office have diversion programs. By the time that the Court gets the kid, this is his third or fourth arrest.

Eighty percent of the kids are for drug distribution, very few for using. Out of 10,000 kids in foster care in Maryland, 75% are from Baltimore City. Many of the kids coming in from Child Welfare are here because the parents are using drugs. The longer the kids stay in foster care without treatment, the greater the possibility of committing juvenile acts. We are trying to develop process to identify these kids early enough to keep them from staying in foster care. We can predict that a kid in foster care with multiple homes by the age of nine will commit a felony by the age of 12.

If a kid is arrested for the first time, he will not be taken in. If the kid is coming back enough time, he will receive a summons to come back in five days. The Court has 75 days to do something. It was an average of seven months between the point of arrest to a consequence. It is now within 60 days.

The closing of the Hickey School is a horrible thing. Closing the school will have more kids in detention.

In Reservoir Hill there is a lot of juvenile crime but the residents are scared of the kids. Judge will be accepting community impact statements. It depends on the case by case. Witness intimidation is a real issue. He would encourage a community statement.

There is an appellate process. If an adult did something and the Police does not make an arrest, you can go to the Appellate Court. For juveniles, you can go to the Department of Juvenile Services.

The kids now are suffering. About 40% of the kids have learning disabilities and many are in for diagnosis. One child had to be treated two weeks in medical isolation for social diseases before she would be treated otherwise.

John Yates, North American Family Initiative reported that the threats in the city are so different from the community value. Many of the new officers in our system had no experience with urban environment. His shelter is in East Baltimore. It cost $580,000 to renovate the building. By dropping kids off here, the police could spend more time on police duties and somebody else looks for the kids’ parents.

Mr. Yates ran seven juvenile boot camps. He had one in Severn MD. Our lieutenant governor decided to shot down his. They ran the boot camp for four years and tracked the kids another year. They had a 80% success rate. Many of these kids and their families can’t relate to community.

As citizens we have to recognize the police and the tough job that they have. They end up seeing the worst of the worst of the worst. How do we help officers see the results of their jobs so that they can be recharged? Do you every see your picture on th board in a business saying “This is our officer?” You have four or five generations of people in the City who know more about the penal system than they know about the legislation.

Part of the real issue in this City is economics. There are about 12 or 13 empowerment employment centers but many people can’t go in and fill out the paperwork.

Also, most communities only come together in crisis. In Reservoir Hill there are many churches but only two organized religious groups that ever give back to the community. On Sunday we can’t even park on our own streets because there are hundreds of people there. They come for church and leave.

A report on crime was given by the Police Department and Sgt. Charles Hess discussed the plans for the future, including a Civilian Police Academy. More details will be available at the January meeting.

Judge Welch and Fr. Thomas of the St. Francis Academy
	John Yates
		Sgt Charles Hess