BALTIMORE — When we talk about the Department of Juvenile Services, we rarely get to hear from the kids who have gone through that system.
WATCH: Teen who finished his DJS sentence details what needs to change about system
WMAR-2 News spoke with one of those teenagers, who detailed what, if anything, needs to change about DJS.
"I got a charge for theft and for a gun."
That's what led this 18-year-old, who goes by Baby J, through the Department of Juvenile Services.
He was ordered to wear an ankle monitor and recently got it taken off in March.
He also had to attend Heart Smiles, an organization all about providing youth from underserved communities with opportunities to succeed.
J, who declined to show his face, told WMAR-2 News that he's learned a lot during his time there.
"A lot of leadership, a lot of accountability, being an example," he said.
In the process of turning his life around and seeing other teenagers go through DJS, he thinks the department has to stop letting kids off easy.
"Limited chances on whatever charges they get. If I do this or do that, I'm gonna go do it again—however that goes."
DJS was under fire last year after a 17-year-old wearing an ankle monitor was charged with murder in connection with the shooting death of a 26-year-old man in Columbia.
On Monday, the department's Secretary Vincent Shiraldi resigned.
And while J doesn't know if the leadership change will affect anything, he told WMAR 2 News that he does know the solution to juvenile crime isn't putting kids behind bars.
"You put them on house arrest and not give them the curfew; that might make a difference," he said. "They're trying to get their dollar however way they get it. I'm not saying it's the right way; I'm not saying it's the wrong way, but it's how they grew up."
He said kids also need an organization like Heart Smiles because without it...
"I'd probably be outside somewhere doing the same thing that got me here. We're here all day for the youth."
J is now a mentor for other kids in the system and is on his way to being a facilitator.
He'll be going to schools around the area teaching students life lessons to hopefully prevent them from making the same mistakes he did.
