BRIGHT BULB Persistent police. Something good must be in the water at the Baltimore County Police Department, because officers have been solving cases at breakneck speed. They found suspects in the light rail kidnapping in record time, and they managed to find a suspect in the case of a Towson University rape victim — possibly solving an open sexual assault case in Baltimore City as well. Keep up the good work.
OUTRAGE: Overtime overuse
- WHO: Maryland’s Juvenile Services Department
- WHAT: The department logged 3,415 overtime hours in March alone. This comes despite a recent report by the Juvenile Justice Monitoring Unit that said overtime is causing many of the agency’s problems — like escaped students.
- WHY IT’S A BAD IDEA: First, was the expensive overtime really necessary? Second, if there really are too few employees, overworked staff can’t properly care for and monitor juvenile offenders.
- WHY THEY ARE DOING IT: Miscreant children and long commutes may not entice many to work in juvenile detention centers. But the state can attract new job applicants and incentivize workers with merit pay or other rewards as bonuses for preventing children from escaping.
- WHERE TO VENT: djs.state.md.us
“It feels like home. … Maybe it’s because I’m here seven hours a day … or because I’ve gotten used to everything.” – Evan Eibner, a student at the new Vincent Farm Elementary School. Vincent Farm uses environmentally friendly heating and cooling techniques and has implemented a variety of new technology for students to use.
