Rethinking Approaches to Over Incarceration of Black Young Adults in Maryland

From the conclusion:

“Maryland has the most extreme racial disparities for those incarcerated for long terms in the United States. That should alarm Maryland leadership and its residents. These disparities are rooted in policing practices that target communities of color, a lack of investment and opportunity in historically disadvantaged neighborhoods, and an overly punitive sentencing, parole, and corrections system that focuses on punishment with insufficient attention given to programming and rehabilitative services that have been proven to improve public safety outcomes.

In particular, failure to address the needs of emerging adults in the criminal justice system has exacerbated racial inequities and driven a system that incarcerates people for decades beyond any public safety benefit. Maryland must not sit by as other states awaken to the need to think differently about emerging adults. Foundational reforms to how the juvenile and criminal justice systems treat 18- to 24-year-olds will help with rolling back mass incarceration, reducing racial disparities, empowering communities, saving taxpayer dollars, and delivering on the promise of safe and prosperous neighborhoods. “