OXON HILL, Md. — Fear for their safety and the direction of their community is what packed a Prince George's County library on Wednesday night. County Councilman Mel Franklin said he wanted a frank conversation about solutions to crime, and that's what he got.
"A lot of the talk we are doing is soft. It's too soft," said one woman in the crowd of several dozen.
"A crisis situation," another woman said of crime in the county.
Gun crimes, stolen cars, and carjackings are up while the criminals are getting younger, say police.
Already this year, Prince George's County Police has arrested 11 juveniles for carjackings in just over a month.
And many in the crowd said they want the parents held accountable.
"There's a feeling that most of our families are doing their job, but a lot of our families aren't," said Franklin. "I think we need to look at the consequences parents are getting as a result of their kids committing these crimes."
And while she agrees there should be accountability for parents, State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy said "coming down too hard" on them can often affect other children in the family depending on those adults.
She wants schools and nonprofits to partner for afterschool activities.
"Young people are home by themselves and they shouldn't be," Braveboy said. She says most children under the age of 13 are "not equipped to be on their own making decisions at critical hours in the day."
"We need to focus on student achievement and supervision," said Braveboy.
There was also a lot of talk about youth employment and getting the kids who need it the most into programs that already exist.
And there is a sense of urgency to slow the crimes juveniles are committing.
Carjackings more than doubled between 2020 and last year to 480 and more than 100 of those crimes were committed by juveniles, police said.
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