Readers Sound Off On Youth Jail Proposal

Reader Comments:

Sad to say, but yes, it should. With so many children turning to crime at an early age,as the fault of adults stealing their child hood by training them to do evil,and with some crimes too bad for them to be allowed to go unpunished, there should be a place to put them. One does not want them in the adult population where they will be abused further. A jail for minors could hopefully rehab some of them.

no need for a new jail. go to www.safeandsound.org to read how the same funding can be used to prevent youth from getting into trouble and give them a real chance for success. Also, click on the National Council on Crime and Delinquency who studied the need for a jail in Baltimore and recommends five ways to avoid building a new jail that would actually increase public ssafety and outcomes for youth. Its a very hopeful and logical solution.

No jail! It is time to invest in recreation centers, start-up capital for youth peer-to-peer enterprises creating employment, and schools. There's no need for youth jails when young people are convinced that they can have great lives. Unfortunately, we have let the young people down, since much of the terrible conditions they endure are just evidence in their eyes that we don't care. Building a new jail is just more evidence. Let's build recs instead, and staff them with young people who need jobs!

If a school system needs its' own police force, I think they may need more jails than schools. The way these kids behave in school is not acceptable. Maybe jail would change their outlook on education. If not, the ones who are interested in learning would not have a fatal distraction.

No. Instead of a new jail for the youth, how about building or opening something positive for them. Reopen the recreation centers to keep them out of trouble. Im pretty sure that the funding used for this project can go back into the rec centers. Rec centers provided lots of activities for a lot of us growing up in the city. It was also affordable.

Studies show the jail approach doesn't work and also that processing juvenile through juvenile services works better than adult jail/prison.

Baltimore needs better government leadership to use its resources effectively to better educate its youth and promote this beautiful historic town. Baltimore City is a college town. Stop and count the various types of educational institutions: Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Peabody Institute, Maryland Institute of Art, Morgan State University, Coppin State University, just to name a few. Does any other city in the country have that many colleges with so many disciplines. This city should have the best educated and talented people in the U.S. Why is it that Washington, D.C. and Old Town Virginia has managed to preserve is houses built at about the same time so much more successfully. We seem to be obsessed with tearing down vintage houses all over the city instead of preserving what makes this town unique. We have this potential and all anyone can think to do is build a jail. The last person with vision who truly loved Baltimore was Mayor Willian Donald Scheafer. He know how to get people to redevelop neighborhoods like being able to buy a house for a $1 if the value was brought up to a certain minimal amount. In the suburbs, they try to build imitation traditional homes and stores with traditional looking facades, but Baltimore had the original and real deal.

Rather than spend $70 million to build a jail, why not build a school where the students can live there and learn of the benefits of education and some of the mysteries of life that has been denied them. Putting these young people into a jail environment will only destroy their minds further and will not help the general public as well when they return to society. Instead of limiting them by putting them into a jail environment, allow them to be educated in an enviroment of trust and respect. They are criminals because they have not learned many lessons of life and this would be an opportunity for these young men and woman to finally get some assistance that they need.

No need for a new jail, need new alternatives. Only 5 percent of youth initially charged as adults wind up convicted in adult court. With a number that low, it's obvious a jail built solely to house youth charged as adults would be counterproductive and a colossal waste of money especially given the great and desperate need for new schools. The issue is about our youth, not about so-called liberal adult, advocates, that get funding based on youth delinquency, Hathaway. I hope Patch wil write aarticle about the real youth movement to stop the jail, and the real legislation, sponsored by Del. Carter, that can accomplish that goa and help our youth and our city: http://mlis.state.md.us/2012rs/billfile/hb1283.htm.

Why not build both a new jail and new schools? We need both here in Baltimore.

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RodneyCBurris Heck No. Use $ postvly 4them

jillpcarter No but acouncil resolution certainly won't stop it.I fear moves like Henry's only serve 2 mislead the public:(