Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is standing behind the head of the Department of Juvenile Services as lawmakers say they are working on bills to change some juvenile justice rules for the 2024 session.
Some people want to change how quickly juveniles are freed after being arrested, while others are against the Child Interrogation Protection Act, which says that police can’t question juveniles until the child has talked to a lawyer.
Vincent Schiraldi, Secretary of the DJS, said the department made mistakes but stood by its rules, including those about holding minors. A lot of people have been arrested for car theft in Baltimore so far this year. Almost 250 of those people were minors.
Moore talked to T.J. Smith of WBAL on Wednesday. When asked about Schiraldi and the DJS, Moore said he would not put someone on the board who was “just a happy-to-be-there kind of secretary.”
Moore said, “Secretary Schiraldi is a reformer and has been a reformer in the past.” “He changed things in the corrections department of New York City, where he was able to greatly improve both accountability and support for the young people.”