So today I'm going to
just put it very bluntly.
Somebody has got to take responsibility
for these armed and dangerous children.
And it is not just the police
and not just the Gov.
Just bluntly put.
We have children who are out in our
communities at 3:00 and 4:00 o'clock AM.
Committing these crimes.
No summer job or government
program is going to help that.
I get the question asked all the time.
What are you going to do?
But if you're out at 3:00 and
4:00 o'clock in the morning at 14?
Carjacking and committing
armed robberies that is not.
The fact that the resources are not there,
so we can't continue to throw
resources to fix that kind of problem.
But at this point,
these kids don't just need a hug,
they also need to be held account.
I know this isn't the popular thing to say.
But the truth of the matter is,
it's a fair question.
Where are their parents?
Where the aunties where are the
uncles and other family members
who are responsible for them.
We have thrown government resources at this
matter and we'll be continuing to do so.
But we're also requesting an emergency
meeting with the Department of
Juvenile Services and continuing
to work collaboratively with the
court system to understand how
these kids are being held account.
But hear me when I say they must.
Be held account.
As County Executive,
it is my job to create and fund programs.
That have been that we've
created to tackle this issue.
It's also my job to fund the
Police Department and ensure that
they are doing their jobs well.
But we would also like for the courts,
for the Department of Juvenile Services
to release to the public their numbers
on outstanding cases and dispositions.
We'd like to prosecute the prosecutor's
office to release its pending cases in
dispositions and we want the Police
Department to publish as well it's
arrest numbers on a public dashboard.
We need our entire criminal justice system
to act in full public transparency so
that we can tackle this issue together.
In the meantime,
I think it's critical that we
have a cooling off period.
So we will begin enforcing an
existing curfew law that will begin
to take effect this upcoming weekend
for at least the next 30 days.
That means that unless an exception applies,
youth under the age of 17.
Must be at home between the hours
of 10:00 PM and 5:00 AM Sunday
through Thursday and 11:59 and
5:00 AM Fridays and Saturdays.
And otherwise they must be
accompanied by an adult.
There are several steps of enforcement.
Beginning with the warning and a
parent or guardian who is not notified.
And if a parent doesn't respond or
fails to respond regarding their child,
the child will be released to social service.
Parents and owners of establishments
who allow youth to remain on
premises during times where they
should be at home will face fines,
including $50.00 for a first offense,
$100 for a second offense,
and $250 for subsequent offenses.
And this is all in the law.
This is not something that I am making up.
This is all current Maryland law.
Simply put, the enforcement of this
law is to protect our children.
Children 17 years old and younger are
not legally responsible for themselves.
Neither are police.
Their parents are responsible and
their families are responsible
for keeping them safe.
We need everyone working
to protect our children.
We can make an arrest.
Make rest after rest after rest,
but after that it's out of
the police department's hand.
Again, where are the parents?
Of kids who are out carjacking
at 3:00 AM in the morning.
And let me be clear,
the government is doing its
part and will continue to do so,
and we will spare no resource in
terms of combating violent crime.
Chief Aziz will talk a bit more
about the efforts of our Police
Department to combat crime.
And again,
we could continue to spend
resources on this issue,
but until people start
being held accountable,
we're not going to fully be able to
tackle this issue in our Community.
We need everyone,
everyone to step up and do their part.
And again, we don't need just hugs,
just warnings.
But the people who are committing
these acts of violence in our community
now need to be held accountable,
held accountable,
and face consequences for absolutely
terrorizing our community.