BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Baltimore Police are pushing back on how new juvenile crime data is being interpreted, arguing the numbers need context. Although carjacking arrests are up for young offenders this year, the department now says that doesn’t necessarily mean more crimes are being committed.
According to the latest data from the Baltimore Police Department, released on Thursday, overall juvenile arrests are down 17% compared to this time last year, dropping from 385 to 318.
But within that broader decline, one category is rising sharply.
Juvenile carjacking arrests are up 80% — increasing from 10 cases last year to 18 so far this year. Police say in 16 of those cases, the juveniles involved were armed.
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Despite the spike, a BPD spokesperson stresses that increase reflects more targeted enforcement, not more incidents, noting that carjackings overall are down 38% citywide.
“It’s very nuanced,” said former Deputy Commissioner Jason Johnson, “We’re not able to indicate whether a crime was committed by a juvenile or not when the perpetrator is unknown.”
Johnson explains that limitation makes it difficult to track juvenile crime trends. He adds the numbers don’t always align with what people are seeing on the streets.
“Arrests going up, but yet we’re also seeing repeat offenders, people who have already been arrested for the same crime, going back on the street and reoffending, which is frustrating,” he said.
Earlier this year, police arrested two 15-year-olds and a 14-year-old in connection with an armed carjacking in East Baltimore. Investigators later revealed the teens had prior arrests, including for robbery, handgun violations, and auto theft.
“I think that they know that they can get away with it,” said Caitlin Morrell, who was carjacked by juveniles in 2022.
Morrell says three teens held her at gunpoint while she was walking home. Surveillance video from a neighbor’s doorbell camera allegedly shows one of the suspects chasing her down, demanding her purse, and ultimately stealing her keys and car. Police later tracked down a 15-year-old suspect using the GPS location from her stolen AirPods. He was convicted, but Morrell says the punishment fell short.
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“They said that he had stolen six other cars, but there wasn’t much that they could do because he was a minor,” Morrell said, “So they said he had to go to school for 60 days, but that they couldn’t necessarily enforce that.”
In a new statement, Baltimore Police acknowledged ongoing concerns about repeat offenders and accountability. The department told FOX45 it has launched regular “youth of concern” meetings with the Department of Juvenile Services.
“The goal of these meetings is to support informed decision-making around court-ordered supervision and services, particularly when current interventions do not appear to be changing behavior. We believe there are opportunities to strengthen processes moving forward,” said a BPD spokesperson.
“That is just a cycle there that seems like it would be easy to break, but yet here we are still talking about it,” added Johnson.
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