'We have to hold young people accountable': Ivan Bates says the system has to be fixed скачать в хорошем качестве

'We have to hold young people accountable': Ivan Bates says the system has to be fixed

Following a shooting in Baltimore's Greektown neighborhood that left two teens injured, State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said Maryland still has a long way to go in addressing juvenile crime. Speaking with WBAL’s T.J. Smith on Tuesday, Bates said his office reviewed 150 juvenile felony cases earlier this year and found that the Department of Juvenile Services detained just 30 of those individuals. “No, we haven’t really fixed the system, because part of the problem is that the gatekeepers are still operating the same way, even though we made all of those tweaks,” Bates said. “Is the system actually failing the citizens? That’s the question I think we really need to ask.” Bates said he hasn’t seen the changes he had hoped for. “We have to hold young people accountable,” he said. “That’s why I’m excited about the Solutions Pack—so we can listen and hear what the community has to say, and hear some of the solutions I’ve thought about and others have thought about, because we’ve got to do something.” The Solutions Pack is described as a community discussion aimed at addressing juvenile crime. It will feature Bates, City Councilman Mark Conway, and other city officials, and will be hosted by Smith. The event is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. at 5700 Loch Raven Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21239. “If you keep making the same arrests, you start to feel like, ‘What are we doing here?’” Bates said. “Then you get frustrated. Then you feel the system isn’t going to support you. And then you don’t want to make the same arrests because it’s a headache.” Baltimore’s police commissioner told WBAL on Monday that while there are about 60,000 juveniles in the city, only 200 to 300 are driving most of the crime—calling it the city's number one issue.