[Baltimore Sun] Reducing juvenile crime by reducing truancy statewide | GUEST COMMENTARY
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It is time for the rest of Maryland to join the ranks of Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties through a “Truancy Reduction Pilot Program – Expansion,” which Senate Bill 865, currently before the state legislature in Annapolis, seeks to do. The program is aimed at providing a better future for those struggling with school attendance. Viewed from a law enforcement perspective, the program has great potential for decreasing juvenile crime and disorder.
Under Maryland law, a truant is a student who has unexcused absences from school for more than eight days in one quarter, 15 days in a semester or 20 days in a school year. The current problem we are faced with, truancy and juvenile crime, is not a new one. However, recently it has gained greater attention due to the actual rise in juvenile crime in some communities and the perception of an increase in others, particularly surrounding emotionally charged crimes involving firearms violence and carjackings.
Too often efforts to reduce crime have centered on reactive short-term thinking and punitive measures like harsher penalties with insufficient thought about long-term solutions. We cannot ignore the need for immediate action, but we must at the same time think and plan in terms of the long game, taking a proactive approach. Successful truancy reduction does that.
Senate Bill 865 is a proactive measure that represents an opportunity to address current concerns regarding juvenile crime. It also has the potential to impact tomorrow’s rate of crime and improve quality of life, providing a better future for many young folks who may be at risk of a life of unfulfilled potential that can lead to incarceration, unemployment and a cycle of poverty.
The Truancy Reduction Program, administered by county circuit courts, is a proactive alternative to punitive measures, such as having parents prosecuted in criminal court or stigmatizing the child. Instead, students are referred to the program by their local public school system. Participation in the program provides the benefit of a court-appointed case manager who will work with the student and family to understand the reasons for the truancy, create a plan for change and make referrals to community-based services where appropriate.
Chronic truancy results in poor academic performance leading to the increased likelihood of a student dropping out of school. It increases the chances of drug and alcohol use, fighting, theft and more serious forms of crime and disorder.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 68% of our prison and jail population failed to graduate from high school. Nationally, the average state prisoner has no more than a tenth-grade education.
Those who are habitually truant as adolescents are more likely to be unemployed, have lower-paying jobs or be incarcerated during their lifetime. A cycle of crime and incarceration has a damaging impact on communities, as well as individuals, especially those that are already struggling.
In his State of the State message on Feb. 7th, Gov. Wes Moore made public safety his top priority. Meeting the governor’s goals requires that we address crime and disorder, and we should measure our success by the absence of both, not the reaction to it. If we are to conquer the persistent ebb and flow of crime rates, we must not only react to that which is right in front of us but also work to address that which is looming over the horizon currently out of sight.
Passage of the Truancy Reduction Pilot Program – Expansion bill will support the governor’s commitment to public safety and dovetail with his ENOUGH Act, a first-in-the-nation- state-level initiative to end concentrated poverty, by reacting to both what is currently in front of us, a serious problem that threatens our communities and the future of many of our school-aged children, and that which is over the horizon currently out of sight, the future rates of crime and disorder.
Karl W. Bickel ([email protected]) is retired from the U.S. Department of Justice, was previously second in command of the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office and is a former assistant professor of criminal justice. He was a 2022 candidate for sheriff of Frederick County and served on the public safety committee of County Executive Jessica Fitzwater’s transition team. He started his career as a Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department officer.
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