From Baltimore, a criminal investigation has begun to determine whether guards at three boot camps for juvenile delinquents committed child abuse. A team of child abuse investigators and state police detectives have questioned 108 juveniles and 87 staff members of the camps. It was common for camp guards to “push, shove, grab and generally manhandle” youths when they first arrived at the state-run camps in the mountains of Garrett County in western Maryland, this according to the chief of Maryland state police detectives, who said some instances of violence appear to be systematic. Maryland state law defines child abuse as any physical pain or injury sustained by a child as a result of “cruel or inhumane treatment or a malicious act by a caregiver, parent or guardian.”