On February 25, Associate Policy Director Sarah Sample testified before the Judiciary Committee in opposition to HB 1361 – Public Safety – Law Enforcement Agencies – Standardized Report Writing System (Maryland Statewide Law Enforcement Report Writing Standardization Act).
This bill requires all law enforcement agencies statewide to adopt a state-mandated, uniform reporting system centralized at the state level.
There is great uncertainty around how this proposed system will be able to provide all the services necessary to law enforcement while ensuring the most stringent standards for investigation records and personnel files, as well as data privacy and protections for residents. The provisions of this bill would require extensive time to study the needs of all local law enforcement agencies but even after that research is concluded, it is highly unlikely an effective tool would be sufficient to warrant the closure of all existing local report databases, without serious detriment to local residents and public safety officials.
Counties appreciate the interest in ensuring law enforcement agencies are sharing important information to the greatest extent possible, but the preemption, intrusion, and debilitating nature of the bill represents significant barriers to effective community policing. As such, the bill represents a meaningful disruption to law enforcement operations statewide, and in doing so, shifts a significant financial burden on to the State.
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