The Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative, an initiative by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General and Office of the Public Defender to reduce mass incarceration in the state, has released its first report detailing what it says are the historical roots and current drivers of mass incarceration and how to address racial disparities within the criminal legal system (article available here).
The 105-page report outlines 18 recommendations addressing criminal justice reform and the reduction of racial disparities in Maryland’s prisons and jails, ranging from changes in law enforcement policies and practices to education and workforce development.
The recommendations include reducing unneeded police interactions with the public, decreasing police use of force, expanding alternatives to incarceration, ending unnecessary pretrial detention, increasing mental health services in jails, increasing access to geriatric and medical parole, reviewing long sentences, stopping the criminalization of in-school behavior, and expanding judicial training on implicit bias and cultural competency, among others.
Maryland’s Black population constitutes nearly 30% of the state’s residents, but Black individuals account for 71% of those in state correctional facilities.
Maryland Public Defender Natasha Dartigue said the collaborative’s report is “a road map to meaningful reform and action against injustice.”
“This report lays bare the devastating and disproportionate toll that mass incarceration has inflicted on the Black community and charts a path toward meaningful change,” said Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown.