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Leaders Criticize Limited Changes to State Parole Department

A late December meeting between state officials left Del. Ben Barnes (D-District 21) and Maryland Sen. Bill Folden (R- District 4) disappointed due to the lack of changes that had been made following the of state parole agent Davis Martinez, who was killed last spring while conducting a home check in Chevy Chase. 

Martinez was the first Maryland parole agent to die in the line of duty. In the immediate aftermath of his murder, several top officials with the State Parole Department were fired and home visits have remained paused except in cases where they are required, with some being converted to virtual or via phone.

“We look forward to getting to the bottom of how this happened and how we can avoid anything like this in the future,” said Barnes during a previous meeting with public safety officials in October, which he described as “woefully inadequate.”

During the December meeting, Maryland’s Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Carolyn Scruggs the department has implemented additional staff training, added alert flags within the case database for parolees with a violent history, and upgraded bullet-proof vests and pepper spray. The overwhelming majority of department staff have been fitted for the multi-threat vests, and they are expected to arrive by March. 

Scruggs also noted 15 incoming agents are expected to begin work this month and 21 agents are undergoing background evaluations.

However, these updates were not satisfying to Folden and other officials. 

“What I’m hearing is, you’ve got nothing,” Folden said during the hearing. “This inaction by you and your leadership is now becoming a public safety issue for the citizens, not just your agents, but for the citizens as a whole.”

The union representing parole workers, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Maryland, also has some criticism of the proposed changes.

“They’ve put up a number of ideas, but they don’t have the resources to execute on them and they don’t have the wherewithal to execute on them,” said AFSCME MD President Patrick Moran. “And they’re being quite dishonest in some instances here.”  

Local Group Releases Recommendations to Address Mass Incarceration 

The   (MEJC), a group with dozens of members including law enforcement, returning citizens, public defenders, and community group leaders, released a list of to address mass incarceration in Maryland on Dec. 12. 

Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) and State Public Defender Natasha Dartigue co-chair the collaborative and emphasized the importance of the group’s efforts.

“No single person created mass incarceration, and no single person can correct its devastating effects on communities of color across Maryland,” said Brown in a statement. “These recommendations are a crucial first step in making our state fairer, and safer, for all. Just as this crisis has harmed Black communities for decades, our efforts will impact Maryland families for generations, helping them heal from the trauma of mass incarceration.”

Some of the recommendations include: re-examining the use and effectiveness of searches to reduce unnecessary interactions with police; limiting the automatic charging of children in adult criminal court; developing a pilot program to improve access to trauma-informed mental health treatment for the incarcerated; and conducting a study on the financial obligations imposed on those under probation and parole. 

One of MEJC’s recommendations, the ending of non-safety traffic stops, is being introduced as a by Sen. Charles Sydnor III (D- District 44), who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

“The impact of mass incarceration extends far beyond the restrictive, steel bars to crippling the financial, social and emotional growth of families and communities,” Dartigue said in a statement. “The ripple effect of prioritizing punitive policies and practices over data-driven approaches, coupled with racially disparate implementation, has irreparably damaged individuals and devastated communities.”