Anne Arundel County asks attorney general to halt Oak Hill construction

AG’s office says it may lack jurisdiction since the juvenile detention center is on federal land

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold (R) has asked the state’s attorney general’s office to stop construction on the new Oak Hill Youth Detention Center — seven months after construction on the replacement facility began.

Leopold wrote a letter to Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler’s office, requesting the state halt construction based on the county law office’s interpretation of a state law.

The law prohibits any state, as well as D.C., from constructing a correctional facility in Maryland without written consent from the Maryland Secretary of Juvenile Services. At issue is whether a juvenile detention center is included under this requirement.

But the state’s Attorney General may not have jurisdiction over location of the facility, which sits on federal land, said Raquel Guillory, a spokeswoman for Gansler’s office. She also cited a 1985 advisory opinion by the then-Attorney General Stephen Sachs that questioned whether juvenile centers were even included in the state law.

Maryland City Civic Association President Ray Smallwood said although the latest development is positive, he knows from experience that a county or state has no jurisdiction over Oak Hill after years of lobbying United States congressmen. His community has been trying for 25 years to get the center relocated out of the area because of concerns over residents escaping the center and going into nearby neighborhoods.

Ten residents escaped during two breakouts in 2001, and three residents escaped in January 2006. A resident also died in November 2005 after being injured during a fight.

The center, run by the District’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services and housing youth between 14 and 21, is located between Route 198 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, east of Maryland City and Russett.

‘‘They just don’t want it in the District and that’s where it needs to be, because these kids are breaking out and trying to get back home,” Smallwood said.

Smallwood said he and other residents have been aware of the construction and have been notifying elected officials since October, but some Maryland officials said in January that they had just found out that the construction was in progress.

Sue Walitsky, spokeswoman for Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), said her office has unofficially been aware of construction since June when staffers noticed pre-construction preparations while at Oak Hill for a meeting. But his office still hasn’t officially been notified. Cardin has been a vocal opponent of the center.

The Homeland Security and Government Operations committees are now reviewing the legislation.

E-mail Elahe Izadi ateizadi@gazette.net.