MARYLAND MUST OVERHAUL ITS JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM

THE recent series in The Sun documenting abuses of juvenile offenders in
state boot camps comes on the heels of a scathing report by an international
human rights group that criticized conditions for youths confined to
Maryland’s jails.

These revelations raise serious concerns about the state's handling of
juvenile offenders and should prompt elected officials to re-examine the
overly punitive policies that have been implemented in recent years.

"Maryland's jails are inappropriate places for youth, even for those accused
of committing very serious crimes," the internationally acclaimed Human
Rights Watch reported. "This conclusion is particularly compelling with
regard to the Baltimore City Detention Center, where children endure dimly
lit, dreary cells infested with vermin and face daily risks to their
personal safety."

Given the serious and well-documented nature of the issues raised by Human
Rights Watch, it would seem that the least the state can do is carefully
investigate the true extent of the problem.

Also, since many of the youths who are jailed with adults will ultimately
have their charges dismissed, reduced, dropped -- or have their cases
transferred to the juvenile system -- Gov. Parris N. Glendening should
sponsor legislation this year to ensure immediate reviews of charges for all
youths who are automatically prosecuted as adults and prohibit minors from
being imprisoned with adults.

The Human Rights Watch report recounted a litany of horrific conditions,
including correctional facilities that are unsafe, unsanitary and inhumane.

Children are frequently placed in contact with adult inmates, sometimes even
sharing cells with them. One youth in the Baltimore City Detention Center
reported that adult detainees in his section frequently harassed him by
throwing excrement and urine into his cell. Violence is common, and
sometimes condoned by guards.

Youths in that jail reported that guards sometimes arrange fights between
youths, which they call "square dances," because they take place in an open
square area on an upper tier.

Despite the strong correlation between mental illness and delinquent
behavior, mental health services in Baltimore's jail are minimal to
non-existent, according to the report. Youths in crisis are placed in a
mental health unit, where they are often kept naked.

Minority children are much more likely than white children to be tried as
adults and sent to jail pending trial, the report stated. Some 39 percent of
youths referred to the juvenile justice system are African-American, but 73
percent of youths tried as adults are black.

The report's author, Michael Bochenek, said that he was surprised to find
such conditions in a progressive state like Maryland.

Judging from the initial reaction from some Maryland officials, improvements
might not be right around the corner. LaMont W. Flanagan, who manages the
jail as the state corrections department's commissioner of pretrial
detention and services, greeted the report with a bevy of denials, calling
the allegations that guards sanctioned fighting between inmates "pure
fiction."

If this is some inmate-concocted conspiracy, then someone needs to explain
to us how inmates interviewed at different times, on different days and in
separate parts of the jail all told the same story.

Crime and punishment is too often argued on the extremes. In this case,
there needs to be, and is, a great deal of middle ground where reasonable
people ought to be able to agree without polarization and defensiveness.

For example, it is in no one's interest to treat juvenile offenders like
animals. Research shows that when young people are locked up in adult jails,
they are twice as likely to be assaulted and five times as likely to be
sexually assaulted as youths held in juvenile facilities.

Perhaps that is why young people tried as adults get re-arrested more
quickly, more frequently and for more serious offenses upon release than
youths with similar offense profiles who are retained in the juvenile
justice system.

In the wake of the Human Rights Watch report, the Maryland Juvenile Justice
Coalition called for an independent grand jury investigation into the city's
jail. That specific request wasn't granted, but, recently, State's Attorney
Patricia C. Jessamy announced that she was requesting that a city grand jury
that regularly inspects jails specifically investigate the Human Rights
Watch allegations.

Failure to respond decisively and swiftly at this point is tantamount to
giving up on our young people. And that is something we should never do.

Vincent Schiraldi is director of the Justice Policy Institute, a public
policy and research group in Washington. Marc Schindler is a staff attorney
with the Washington-based Youth Law Center, a national public interest law
firm that works on behalf of youths in juvenile justice.