Vincent Schiraldi
{{short description|American police officer}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Vincent Schiraldi
| image = Vincent Schiraldi (52863617192).jpg
| office = Maryland Secretary of Juvenile Services
| governor = Wes Moore
| term_start = March 2, 2023
Acting: January 18, 2023 – March 2, 2023
| term_end =
| predecessor = Sam J. Abed
| successor =
| office1 = 36th Commissioner of the
New York City Department of Correction
| term_start1 = June 1, 2021
| predecessor1 = Cynthia Brann
| successor1 = Louis Molina
| birth_name = Vincent N. Schiraldi
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|01|03}}
| 1blankname1 = Mayor
| 1namedata1 = Bill de Blasio
| education = New York University (MSW)
Binghamton University (BA)
| termend1 = December 31, 2021
}}
Vincent N. Schiraldi (born January 3, 1959) is an American juvenile justice policy reformer and activist who has served as the Maryland Secretary of Juvenile Services since 2023.{{cite web |title=Vincent N. Schiraldi, Maryland Secretary of Juvenile Services |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/19djj/html/msa18520.html |website=Maryland Manual On-Line |publisher=Maryland State Archives |access-date=March 26, 2023}} He was previously a senior research scientist at the Columbia University School of Social Work from October 2017 to January 2023. He is known for advocating for trying suspects under the age of 21 in juvenile court, and for programs that supervise older inmates and erase their records if they find a job.{{Cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/09/11/439381214/it-s-time-to-rethink-how-young-adults-are-punished-criminal-justice-experts-say |title=Time To Rethink How Young Adults Are Punished, Experts Say |last=Johnson |first=Carrie |date=2015-09-11 |website=NPR |language=en |access-date=2017-12-04}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/time-to-raise-the-juvenile-age-limit/2015/10/02/948e317c-6862-11e5-9ef3-fde182507eac_story.html |title=Why 21 year-old offenders should be tried in family court |last1=Schiraldi |first1=Vincent|last2=Western|first2=Bruce |date=2015-10-02 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2017-12-04}} His advocacy for more lenient treatment of youth offenders has been controversial: youth advocates have praised his reforms for providing outlets for juveniles, while some law enforcement officers have questioned whether his policies have been too lenient.{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/30/AR2009113003966.html |title=D.C.'s juvenile justice chief is heading to New York |last=Stewart |first=Nikita |date=2009-12-01 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2017-12-04 |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}
Biography
Schiraldi grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Regis High School in Manhattan, received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Binghamton University and his MSW from New York University Silver School of Social Work. He reformed the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in 1991, and served as its director until 2002, when he founded the Justice Policy Institute (JPI). He then served as the director of the JPI until 2005, when he became the administrator of the District of Columbia's Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. As head of the Department, he argued that juveniles should not be punished as harshly, and that incentives are a better way to reduce juvenile misbehavior.{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/28/AR2005082801112.html |title=D.C. Juvenile Reform Official Quickly Shakes Up Attitudes |last=Ryan |first=Lindsay |date=2005-08-29 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2017-12-04 |page=2 |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}} In 2010, he became Commissioner of the New York City Department of Probation, a position he held until 2014, when he became a senior advisor to mayor Bill de Blasio in the New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice.{{Cite web |url=https://childdetentionnt.royalcommission.gov.au/NT-public-hearings/Documents/evidence-2017/evidence27june/Exh-601-001.pdf |title=Vincent N. Schiraldi, MSW }}{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/28/AR2005082801112.html |title=D.C. Juvenile Reform Official Quickly Shakes Up Attitudes |last=Ryan |first=Lindsay |date=2005-08-29 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2017-12-04 |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}} From March 2014 to September 2015, he was senior advisor to Elizabeth Glazer, director of the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice.{{Cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/head-probation-hired-run-nyc-jails-article-1.3270434 |title=Former head of probation may be hired to run NYC jails |last=Blau |first=Reuven |date=2017-06-23 |work=NY Daily News |access-date=2017-12-04 |language=en}} He was a senior research fellow at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, heading the Program on Criminal Justice from 2015 until he joined Columbia's faculty in October 2017.{{Cite press release |title=Juvenile Justice Expert Vincent Schiraldi Joins School of Social Work as Senior Research Scientist |date=2017-09-26 |url=https://socialwork.columbia.edu/news/juvenile-justice-expert-vincent-schiraldi-joins-school-of-social-work-as-senior-research-scientist/ |language=en-US |access-date=2017-12-04 |website=The Columbia School of Social Work}} In 2021, he was appointed Commissioner of the New York City Department of Corrections for the last seven months of Mayor Bill de Blasio's term.{{Cite web|last=Marcius|first=Chelsia Rose|title=Vincent Schiraldi appointed as new Correction Department commissioner|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-vincent-schiraldi-new-correction-department-commissioner-20210512-55ybp6mkgngmtdky7yxzn72lzy-story.html|access-date=2021-05-12|website=nydailynews.com|date=12 May 2021 }}
Maryland Secretary of Juvenile Services
On January 12, 2023, Governor-elect Wes Moore named Schiraldi as the Maryland Secretary of Juvenile Services.{{cite news |last1=Wood |first1=Pamela |title=Gov.-elect Wes Moore names key cabinet appointments |url=https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/politics-power/state-government/gov-elect-wes-moore-names-key-cabinet-appointments-7QBV47K6JFAJDPGNUZ4JJ3FPSE/ |access-date=January 12, 2023 |work=Baltimore Banner |date=January 12, 2023}} He took office in an acting capacity on January 18, 2023. His nomination was the most controversial of Moore's cabinet nominees, with Maryland Senate Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Stephen S. Hershey Jr., saying that Schiraldi was "a little progressive for some of our members"{{cite news |last1=Zorzi |first1=William F. |title=More Moore Cabinet nominees move forward, while senators scrutinize Juvenile Services head |url=https://www.marylandmatters.org/2023/02/14/more-moore-cabinet-nominees-move-forward-while-senators-scrutinize-juvenile-services-head/ |access-date=February 21, 2023 |work=Maryland Matters |date=February 14, 2023}} and others scrutinizing his approach to juvenile justice.{{cite news |last1=Wood |first1=Pamela |title=Gov. Moore's cabinet secretaries advance toward confirmation |url=https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/politics-power/state-government/gov-wes-moore-senate-confirmations-FZXZH4J7EJCKHMMDSGHIPXH354/ |access-date=February 21, 2023 |work=Baltimore Banner |date=February 6, 2023}} On February 21, the Maryland Senate voted 33–14 along party lines to approve Schiraldi's nomination, making him the only member of Moore's cabinet not to receive a unanimous vote.{{cite news |last1=Gaskill |first1=Hannah |title=After delay, Maryland Senate confirms Vincent Schiraldi as head of juvenile services |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-pol-schiraldi-comfirmed-20230221-7qsuke73rngknotudmll2s5ixu-story.html |access-date=February 21, 2023 |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=February 21, 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Wiggins |first1=Ovetta |title=Maryland Senate confirms nominee for juvenile services secretary |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/02/21/moore-juvenile-services-vincent-scharaldi/ |access-date=February 21, 2023 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 21, 2023}}
In October 2024, after a Howard High School student with a prior criminal record was charged with first-degree murder, multiple Republican officials{{cite news |last1=Duncan |first1=Rachel |title=Schiraldi responds to calls for his removal |url=https://www.wbaltv.com/article/maryland-juvenile-services-secretary-schiraldi-responds/62653730 |access-date=October 25, 2024 |work=WBAL-TV |date=October 22, 2024 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Ford |first1=William J. |title=Maryland schools must now share information on students charged with serious crimes |url=https://marylandmatters.org/2024/10/22/maryland-schools-must-now-share-information-on-students-charged-with-serious-crimes/ |access-date=October 25, 2024 |work=Maryland Matters |date=October 23, 2024}} and Baltimore community members called for the removal of Schiraldi as Maryland Secretary of Juvenile Services.{{cite news |last1=Amara |first1=Kate |title=DJS secretary's ouster sought after teen charged with murder |url=https://www.wbaltv.com/article/columbia-shooting-suspect-tracee-octavious-parker-bail-review/62626038 |access-date=October 25, 2024 |work=WBAL-TV |date=October 17, 2024 |language=en}} Schiraldi declined to step down, telling The Baltimore Sun that he agreed with community members' desires to see fewer crimes involving young people and was implementing a plan to deter juvenile crime through policies to hold offenders accountable while doing "all we can" to turn their lives around.{{cite news |last1=Costelllo |first1=Darcy |title=Juvenile services secretary says he aims for ‘balanced approach’ to solving youth crime, amid resignation calls |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/10/22/juvenile-services-balanced-approach-resignation-calls/ |access-date=October 25, 2024 |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=October 22, 2024}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Bill de Blasio cabinet}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schiraldi, Vincent}}
Category:Binghamton University alumni
Category:New York University alumni
Category:Columbia University School of Social Work faculty
Category:Harvard Kennedy School faculty
Category:State cabinet secretaries of Maryland
Category:Commissioners in New York City
Category:Criminal justice in the United States
Category:Criminal justice reform
Category:Regis High School (New York City) alumni