Appears to be working brilliantly. |
As a PP point out, the NCCF shelter was built when this was farm land and the idea was to get families away from the troubled environments. When the GAP program started in 1970, Bethesda didn’t even have metro. Now they can get to and from their old friends really easily plus MoCo has its own crime issues so if they’re looking for trouble, it’s easy to find. There was another instance a couple years ago where a girl at the shelter ran away and as I recall she had just taken the bus to metro and gone into the city fo meet up with her problematic boyfriend. It’s a good location for family shelter as the moms can take public transportation to work — but it’s not a great location for troubled teens who you are trying to give a fresh start. I had some professional involvement with homes with court involved youth and it is super hard to design good programs for that group. |
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The county council and state politicians have ruined this area. The police department is falling apart, the have more leaving than joining.
The number of officers in the “drop” program is at an all time high which means they can retire anytime but must leave within 3 years. When you can personally be sued for arresting someone who can claim anything they can’t do their job. They don’t want to do their job and they won’t. The leadership of the police department is all political and Manger was the worst at it. People don’t realize how few officers are on a shift. If they knew how many were working at one time they would be shocked and it is only going to get worse. |
The attrition is police departments is a national problem not a MoCo specific. MoCo pays a smidge more than surrounding counties so doesn’t have it quite as bad as some other places. And the DROP program actually incentivized officers to stay a few more years — those officers all would have retired sooner if not for the DROP. The police problem is a national one and one I’m not sure there’s an immediate fix for. Higher wages, better training are part of it but won’t come close to solving the problem. Gun control would also help a lot, as right now who wants to be the one serving a warrant on someone who may have a arsenal like a small country behind the door? But we know gun control is basically a non-starter in this country, so here we are. |
Given the program has been around since 1973 and this is the worst thing that has occurred in that time, yes, I expect it does for the most part work as it should. This is a monumental fail and it is heart-breaking on several levels. |
Councilmembers like Jawando demonizing police doesn't help. MCPD has in general been quite professional. Officer-involved shootings were sent to an independent prosecutor (Howard County) for years. Now people are protesting shootings where the officers are found innocent, like the case where a man in Silver Spring lunged at the office with a knife. I can understand why morale is low and no one wants to be a cop with working conditions like that. The pay and benefits are decent, but why not get some other job, even if it pays a little less, and not have to deal with being second-guessed on every split-second decision you make? |
It's fancy for " involvement with the juvenile justice system," which is a euphemism for juveniles whose crimes are serious or extensive enough to get them removed from home and placed in a facility. |
Except what? Undereducated drug-addled robbers and murderers? Yeah: they're not welcome. |
No, they aren't unredeemable at all. But they can become that way when they're tossed aside after a traumatic early childhood and then viewed as interlopers in the community where they live (see also: posts in this thread). |
No. Sometimes the kids are highly vulnerable but have committed no crimes themselves. |
Police attrition is a national problem but MoCo was largely shielded from that because it had a stellar reputation. Not that political leadership hates cops and refuses to support even good policing, most recent candidates won’t apply here. And MoCo police have one of the lowest starting salaries in the region. In a high cost of living county. |
If this year hasn't been a lesson in the dangers of pretending violent offenders just need to have a good meal and hug it out, I don't know what else it's been. |
My issue is this: we have enough at-risk youth in this county who need our support, the idea that we should be importing these kids from DC is ridiculous and needs to be stopped immediately. If NCCF is receiving county funds to import troubled kids from DC, instead of supporting county residents then that should be a massive scandal. |
Given that the program has been around since 1973 perhaps there is some data on actual outcomes to understand if it works? If not your post is also equally conjecture. |
you're welcome to do any research you like into that data and then you can share it with us and give us your full assessment, of the program, this homicide, hell you can even comment on my cooking if you're so inclined. |