Throughout our communities, citizens have felt the increased worry stemming from the question of public safety. In Harford County, residents have experienced firsthand the implications from the rise in juvenile crime.

This past fall, our community witnessed two horrific incidents unfold, one at my alma mater Joppatowne High School where a student was murdered in the school at the hands of another student, and one at Edgewood High School where an MS-13 gang member, who had committed a murder and rape, was allowed to attend a county school. Due to several state laws that make the chain of communication between school leaders and public safety officials impossible, both these incidents unfolded in ways that put further students at risk. To be clear, the risk factors did not stem from law enforcement or school personnel not doing their job but rather were the result of outdated state laws. As a father of children in the Harford County Public School system, I am concerned with the implications of these laws. That is why I have partnered with Harford County’s State’s Attorney Alison Healey to address these issues via several pieces of legislation.

The first bill, H.B. 951, will add certain juvenile offenses to a preexisting list of reportable offenses. Once these offenses are added to the list and if a juvenile commits one of them, a notification piece kicks in that would allow law enforcement agencies to share certain information with select school personnel regarding the juvenile. Furthermore, I add in the bill language that would allow the state’s attorney (and not law enforcement) to provide notification to a school superintendent or their designee if a juvenile is a suspect in a crime that, if committed by an adult, would be a felony or a crime of violence. By making these changes — updating the list for what’s currently reportable and allowing the state’s attorney to provide notification with the suspect piece — the chain of communication from state to localities is updated and will ensure a safer community for our schools and students.

The second bill, H.B. 952, provides authorization for a local school superintendent or their designee to access the Juvenile Sex Offender Registry and updates the lists to include certain offenses, one of which includes the production and distribution of child pornography without consent. Another piece of the bill updates the timeline in which a juvenile’s name must stay on the registry. Right now, when probation ends for a juvenile, their name is removed from the registry, and they’re allowed to return to school in person. Unfortunately, this has played out before, as was reported by Chris Papst with FOX45 News when a Baltimore City judge issued a ruling that allowed a repeat 16-year-old sex offender to be removed from the list and thus return to school in person. To prevent this from happening again, H.B. 952 requires a juvenile stay on the list until they are 18 or their probation ends, whichever occurs later. The bill’s intent is to protect all students and personnel within our schools, so these changes are essential.

One third and final piece of legislation I am cosponsoring, H.B. 622, allows the parents of a juvenile to authorize law enforcement to talk with the juvenile directly regarding an incident in which they (the juvenile) may have knowledge. Unfortunately, due to legislation passed by the Maryland General Assembly, juveniles are not allowed to talk with law enforcement without the consent of an attorney, which has resulted in not only many kids coming into contact with the system because they could not share information on the frontend that would clear their name but also has prevented law enforcement from furthering investigations. An example of this unfolded with the Joppatowne incident when law enforcement could not question any student on the whereabouts of the weapon used in the murder. As a result of this, the weapon is still at large, thus potentially putting students at risk.

It is my ardent intent with these bills to provide necessary safeguards and parameters so that our students are able to attend institutions of education that provide a safe learning environment.

Del. Mike Griffith is a Republican representing District 35A, which includes Harford and Cecil counties.