In an earlier post, I called for state juvenile officials to be more forthcoming about how a 17-year-old who was home detention despite a lengthy criminal record, cut off his electronic home monitoring device and was charged with shooting a 5-year-old girl in Carrollton Ridge last week.

Today at the monthly Criminal Justice Coordinating Council meeting, the Baltimore Sun's Justin Fenton reports that Mayor Sheila Dixon pressed Juvenile Services Secretary Donald DeVore for an explanation as to how the agency determines when a juvenile offender should be detained or placed on home monitoring. She said many juveniles have lengthy records, including gun violations, but are freed.

The question is particularly troublesome for city police and prosecutors who routinely get criticized for failing to quell violence and then bring those who are caught to proper justice. Now, both police and the State's Attorney's Office can grill someone else, and it appears they too want public accountability from the juvenile wards.

DeVore punted the question, saying he couldn’t talk about specific cases and would gladly brief the mayor in private on Lamont Davis case. Dixon responded that she hadn’t asked specifically about Davis, but wanted to know generally how the process works. Again, DeVore dodged, giving a broad response that didn’t address the crux of Dixon’s question.

“We are continuing to identify those youths we consider the most dangerous to wrap them with the tightest forms of supervision,” DeVore said.

Later, DeVore and his chief of staff Tammy Brown stepped into a sideroom to talk privately with Dixon and aides Sheryl Goldstein and Demaune Millard.