New $70 Million Juvie Jail in Baltimore Draws Strong Opposition

Opposition was strong at a Senate Budget and Taxation Committee hearing Wednesday on the proposed construction of a new youth detention center in Baltimore City to house youths charged as adults with violent crimes.

The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services plans to build a $70 million facility that corrects serious inadequacies in the confinement conditions for youths charged with serious criminal offenses in the Baltimore City Detention Center. The new building slotted for the 600 blocks of W. Monument and W. Madison Streets would alleviate the struggle to keep the youth separated from adult criminals, a serious problem at the city jail.

Witnesses pointed out that in the last five years, the number of juvenile homicides in Baltimore is down by 36%. Non-fatal juvenile shootings in the city have decreased nearly 70% in the last four years. Opponents of the new 120-bed detention center say that building the jail would be a waste of taxpayer dollars, considering that there are 42 youths (aged 14-17) currently incarcerated at the city jail.

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