Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative (MEJC) recently released recommendations on ways to reduce racial imbalance in the state’s prisons. The collective plans to produce a report ahead of the General Assembly session, beginning on January 8, 2025. The focus of these recommendations are to find a solution to the imbalance in state sentencings, as roughly 71% of those incarcerated in the state’s correctional facilities are Black residents, however Black residents account for only 32% of Maryland’s population in 2023.

Public Defender Natasha Dartigue, left, and Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown at the opening meeting in June of the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative. Photo by William J. Ford.

MEJC highlights the impact of mass incarceration, noting that it extends to the financial, social, and emotional growth and development of families and communities. Suggested solutions are inclusive of a proposal for legislation that “would enhance data reporting requirements to include data on race and gender; re-examine the use and efficacy of consent searches to reduce unnecessary interactions with police and allow for more appropriate utilization of law enforcement; and end non-safety related traffic stops.” Senator Charles Snydor (D-Baltimore County) is working on a bill that proposes to downgrade several primary violations to secondary status. A proposal to which the president of the Maryland Sheriff’s Association has expressed his disapproval and called “ridiculous”.

MEJC’s members consist of over three dozen representatives of law enforcement, nonprofit and community groups, criminal justice reform groups and returning citizens. Other recommendations include:

  • Developing a pilot program to improve access to trauma-informed mental health treatment for those incarcerated in detention centers and jails;
  • Conducting a comprehensive study on the financial obligations imposed on individuals under probation and parole “and their impact on successful reentry”;
  • Expanding and improving community-based reentry programming by creating a protocol to share specific service needs of those incarcerated; and
  • Limiting the automatic charging of children in adult criminal court.

Maryland Matters – MEJC tackles mass incarceration

Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative