Carroll County's lawyer says that youth crime doesn't get better

Almost six months in 2025 and the prosecutor of Carroll County, Haveny Shoemaker, says that the number of youth cases that come on his desk shows no signs of slowing down.

“It was 96 or so in 2024,” he said. “We are up to date this year to get too close that it has not declined since November 1st.”

Then the new youth criminal laws came into force in order to fold better to young people.

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Schuhmacher says that the effects are dark.

“I think what encourages them is a lack of consequences,” he said.

A similar message came in a town hall of Ivan Bates from Baltimore City this week.

According to Bates, the problem is in the youth services department, which releases too many children back to the community.

“The system makes no sense. Allow them to those who have the legal conclusions, those who are in court, those who can argue for the client, the public defender – DJS and the lawyer of the state, and the judge makes the decision,” said Bates.

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Shoemaker agrees that there must be more coordination when it comes to the detention of young people.

“In my opinion, crimes of violence, including a second degree attacks and crimes, should trigger a requirement that the young person appears before the judicial officer, regardless of whether this is the judge or a judge of the district court, and that would enable the state of the local public prosecutor to play a role and to see these cases,” he said.

Real change he says will come with real leadership.

“I believe that the fish goes down the head and I think we see that with DJs,” he said. “He should have been gone a long time ago.”