Maryland Governor O'Malley Kicks Off the Maryland Crime Victims' Rights and Compliance First Annual Conference

Announces Award of State's First Ever Law Enforcement Technology Grants

ELLICOTT CITY, MD (January 8, 2008) – Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley today kicked off the Maryland Crime Victims’ Rights and Compliance First Annual Conference in Ellicott City. Hosted by the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention in partnership with the Maryland State Board of Victim Services, the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and the University of Baltimore’s Victim Assistance Training Center, the two day conference will provide legal updates and best practices to criminal justice professionals and victim services providers.

“Our first duty to the citizens of Maryland is public safety, as is improving our quality of life and expanding opportunity for more people rather than fewer,” said Governor O’Malley. “It is an honor to kick off the first of these annual conferences. The dedicated criminal justice professionals who are here today are committed to meeting the needs of crime victims and I am grateful for their hard work to meet the needs of those victims.”

Attendees of the conference, which include law enforcement officers, prosecutors, clerks of the court, Department of Juvenile Services administrators and case managers, local and state corrections professionals, parole and probation agents, and members of the Circuit and District Courts of Maryland will work together to develop short and long term objectives to improve services to victim and ensure statutory compliance.

During his remarks, Governor O’Malley announced the awarding of the State’s first ever law enforcement technology grants, which have been granted to 19 jurisdictions, as well as Maryland State Police and other statewide agencies. The grants were allocated from federal law enforcement funding through the Governor’s Office of Crime Control & Prevention (GOCCP).

“By enhancing data information-sharing capacity, we are promoting effective security integration partnerships for information sharing among governmental and law enforcement entities throughout Maryland,” said Governor O’Malley. “These grants fund technology that has an immediate impact on improving the operations of law enforcement agencies across the state.”

The $1.3 million awarded in Law Enforcement Technology grants target technology systems, including:

* Electronic Ticketing: A system of writing tickets in-car and transferring the data directly to the courts database, eliminating the need to send 5 paper copies. E-Tix is being rolled out statewide by MSP. GOCCP provides funds to locals so they can participate.
* Capwin: Provides local law enforcement user-friendly access to state warrant databases, drivers license photos.
* MDC Upgrades: Improvements to in-car computer systems, software and hardware.
* CAD/RMS: Computer-aided dispatch and records management systems for police.
* License plate recognition software.
* Mapping/Analysis: To support Compstat in local departments.
* Gun Licensing (MSP): Network improvements to MSP gun licensing and registration database so the information is more easily accessible to all law enforcement.
* CCTV: Gang and crime surveillance and intelligence sharing technology.

In addition to breaking new ground by emphasizing law enforcement technology, these grant awards provide specific opportunities to those local jurisdictions that have not been funded in the past. Governor O’Malley lifted the local funding match that used to be required for GOCCP grants. Talbot County received funding for a CAD system, replacing its old 17-year old system.

“Tax dollars are scarce,” said Sheriff Dallas Pope. “We had been using pencils and index cards to store information. This grant supplies us with real building blocks for a huge jump into modernizing our police efforts in Talbot County.”

The grants announced today are in addition to the $750,000 in grants the Governor awarded to detention centers in November for gang information collection and sharing. All of the information gathered in the detention centers will be available to police and sheriffs in the awarded jurisdictions, giving them new data as they crack down on gangs and crime.

Source: Maryland Governor