Investing in Maryland Safety

Maryland takes a comprehensive approach to youth justice. In 2023, Governor Moore recruited Vincent Schiraldi to be Secretary of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services (DJS). Schiraldi is one of the nation’s foremost public safety experts and agency leaders. He was familiar with the numerous policy tensions involved in youth justice. He knew elected officials and the general public look instinctively to law enforcement and punishment in response to youth crime concerns. However, he also knew that punishment-only approaches inevitably fail to protect the public. Effective crime prevention must work on multiple fronts simultaneously and must do so without causing undue harm. Continue reading Investing in Maryland Safety

Community Safety Investments

Despite various shortcomings, the research team found important indicators that suggest positive benefits of the State initiatives to prevent crime and violence. When researchers analyzed violent and property index crimes (i.e., aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, and larceny), the change in crime occurrences sometimes varied by the amount of funding received. Using 2010 as the base year and tracking crime rates through 2023, researchers found that total index crimes dropped 14 percent in counties receiving funding, but index crimes grew 13 percent in counties that received no funding for the three main initiatives. Continue reading Community Safety Investments