Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich is praising Gov. Wes Moore’s decision to launch a youth motor vehicle theft intervention pilot program in Montgomery County while calling for additional resources to address repeat offenses involving young children.
In his weekly update, Elrich thanked Moore for recognizing youth-involved vehicle theft as a public safety priority and discussed the challenges the county has faced in addressing juvenile auto theft. “This is not about punishing children. These are kids,” Elrich said. “In many cases, they are kids who have grown up in difficult circumstances who feel like the doors to a better life are closed to them.”
Moore issued a directive on October 13 instructing the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services to develop pilot programs in Montgomery County and Baltimore City. Among the initiatives is an early-intervention pathway aimed particularly at young children involved in stolen vehicle incidents who cannot be formally charged in criminal cases.
Elrich pointed to an August crash in Germantown in which a 58-year-old father of five who was on his way to work at the National Institute of Standards and Technology was killed after his vehicle was struck by a stolen car allegedly driven by and carrying juveniles.
According to Elrich, motor vehicle thefts have increased by approximately 20% over the past year in Montgomery County. He said Montgomery County Police told the County Council this summer that nearly 100 juveniles had already been arrested in 2026 on auto theft charges, including some as young as 11. More than 1,700 auto thefts had been reported in Montgomery County as of August 19, according to Elrich.
The county executive said simply criminalizing juvenile behavior will not solve the problem, but neither will allowing repeated behavior to continue without intervention. “We have no system of care for children who feel this way, and criminalizing the behavior is not going to fix this, but neither does ignoring the behavior and hoping that it will go away,” Elrich said.
Elrich, a former public school teacher, said he has heard young students express the belief that they would not live to age 25. He said issues including mental health, generational poverty and a lack of opportunity and connection can contribute to the circumstances surrounding juvenile crime.“What works is intervention,” Elrich said. “When we get involved early with coordinated, wraparound services that help the whole family, we all benefit.”
Elrich said Montgomery County has used summer intervention programs as part of its response since experiencing an increase in juvenile crime in 2023, but said the county still lacks sufficient resources to reach everyone who needs assistance.
He also raised concerns about repeat offenders being returned to home environments that may not be equipped to prevent additional incidents. “I understand the distaste of putting a young child in jail, but if the home environment is not adequate to prevent repeat offenses, then the cycle continues,” Elrich said. “We simply don’t have the facilities or capacity to help children who need more intense interventions, and that is something I’m going to continue to push for.”
