Statement - District 8 Council Member Edward Burroughs III Responds to County Executive’s Veto of Crime Initiative Budget Amendment
With great disappointment, I share that County Executive Angela Alsobrooks has vetoed a crime initiative passed by the County Council in collaboration with States Attorney Aisha Braveboy. The Emerging Adults program would work to create safer neighborhoods and save lives by reducing recidivism among Prince Georgians, ages 18-26, who have committed crimes.
Proposing and ultimately passing this initiative was personal for me. In an unthinkable, unimaginable act that rocked my family, his friends, and our community, this March, my cousin was murdered at the age of 23. Thanks to great police work, two suspects, both 22-year-old males from Capitol Heights, Maryland, were quickly arrested. I learned that one of the suspects was on probation after previous convictions in two gun-related cases. Sadly, too many Prince Georgians are having the same experience.
Many of the homicides that occur in our County are at the hands of people, ages 18 to 26, with prior convictions. County data shows that at the end of 2020, nearly 40% of those incarcerated in our County jail were young adults, and after serving time for lesser crimes, 54% of them were rearrested on charges that include murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, and carjacking.
The U.S. Department of Justice studied inmates from 30 different states over nine years following their release, and the 2018 results were stunning: 68% were rearrested within 3 years; 79% were rearrested within 6 years; and 83% were rearrested within 9 years.
Recidivism impacts every one of us - more crime in our neighborhoods, more victims, less economic development, and more of our residents feeling the need to move out of our County in search of safer places to raise their families.
While juvenile offenders are offered a myriad of services while incarcerated, there is no similar support for this critical population of emerging adults, even though statistics show 43% of them will be less likely to commit another crime when they participate in programs like this one.
State’s Attorney Braveboy created the Emerging Adults program to address the pressing need to stop recidivism. The initiative provides conflict resolution and anger management courses; connects incarcerated young adults with mentors who are successful law-abiding returning citizens; and facilitates career opportunities by building relationships with business owners and labor unions while the offenders are still in prison.
Investing in returning citizens not only improves their lives, but it makes our entire community better and safer. I know people have the power to change. I am the proud son of a returning citizen.
The County Council provided $250,000 of new funding to our State’s Attorney’s Office to support the Emerging Adult Program. That amounts to .005% of the $5 billion Prince George’s County Budget.
County Executive Alsobrooks believes we can’t afford it, but we know we can ill afford the cycle of recidivism claiming our young people and communities.
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