An official website of the State of Maryland.

Maryland.gov Translate

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Department of Juvenile Services

DJS announces transparency effort with public data dashboard

Press Release |
Updated:

BALTIMORE, Md – As Governor Wes Moore this morning announced record funding to support law enforcement in the administration’s FY 2027 proposed budget, lawmakers and the public will have a new tool at their disposal to help make sense of Maryland juvenile crime trends, thanks to a new public data dashboard, announced today by the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services (DJS). 

The dashboard includes data about DJS intake, detention, community supervision, equity, and recidivism, and will be searchable by county and municipality. Since 2011, DJS has published this data in a massive printed book called the Data Resource Guide, but now the data will be more accessible and searchable. 

"DJS has long been committed to providing data to inform policy and practice, and these dashboards represent a new, up-to-date way to make that information even more accessible and useful,” said Acting Secretary Betsy Fox Tolentino. “I’m excited about this progress and look forward to continuing to find new ways to improve transparency and present our data in clear, user-friendly formats that support better outcomes for youth.” 

New data released with the dashboard show promising trends of positive momentum for the effort to slow crime in Maryland. 

  • Total juvenile complaints have declined by more than 40% over the past decade.
  • In the past year, non-violent felony complaints decreased by 23%, and complaints involving crimes of violence declined by 11%.
  • Recidivism continues to fall: only 18.5% of committed youth had a new sustained juvenile offense or adult conviction, down from 20.3% in 2016.
  • Outcomes for youth on probation show similar improvement, with just 17% experiencing a new sustained juvenile offense or adult conviction, compared to nearly 20% in 2016.

“I appreciate DJS’s continued commitment to transparency not only by making data accessible, but by presenting it in a clear, user-friendly format,” said Darren Popkin, Executive Director for the Maryland Chiefs of Police and Sheriffs' Association. “Having access to clear and consistent data strengthens collaboration across the justice system and allows us to focus on strategies that improve public safety while supporting better outcomes for youth.” 

This dashboard is just one of the changes made by Acting Secretary Betsy Fox Tolentino in her first seven months on the job. Appointed by Moore in June of 2025, Fox Tolentino was tasked with moving quickly to address deficiencies in the agency. Since then, she has: 

  • Identified children falling through the cracks of the electronic monitoring system and corrected the issue with a policy change and added training and support.
  • Invested $30 million in community-based programming, including $10 million in new programming, to fill the need for increased funding and direction for community-based programming.
  • Restored evidence-based services in Baltimore City for the first time in a decade.
  • Increased staffing, training and support for frontline staff in DJS facilities, leading to a drop in incidents. 

The dashboards will be updated at the end of each year as data is verified and will include historical data dating back to 2011. The 2025 Data Resource Guide will be released later this month and previous editions will remain available for download on the DJS website.