Connect with us

Maryland

Gestures are easy, reform is hard.

Published

on

Gestures are easy, reform is hard.


Going back to the 1980s and the escalation of the war on drugs, how many times did we sit in a city or county courtroom as prosecutors called the names of defendants accused of having marijuana in their pockets?

And how many times did we wonder why the state – through local police and prosecutors – bothered to bring these cases to Maryland District Court? They were victimless crimes. Most of the defendants, having been arrested and sent to a detention center, pleaded guilty. In my observations, most of the Baltimore judges gave lenient sentences.

It seemed like a waste of time and expense, having little to do with public safety.

And, of course, the defendants came out of the courtrooms with criminal records – or yet another misdemeanor added to the records they already had. And what was the consequence?

Advertisement

Forever and a day, criminal convictions of any kind barred people from getting decent jobs and renting decent apartments. The problem persisted for years after prison, too. Business owners refused to hire people with criminal records, leaving many of them exasperated and frustrated in their efforts to go straight after prison.

Once upon a time, even a marijuana misdemeanor could be an obstacle to employment, though to what extent in Maryland in more recent years, I am not sure. I’ll tell you why.

I had an intensive period of contact with hundreds of adults with criminal records for about five years, starting in June 2005. The war on drugs was still a thing, though law enforcement’s main focus was on heroin and cocaine, not so much marijuana.

I reported frequently on the futile struggles of ex-offenders, mostly from the Baltimore area, in trying to find jobs after prison. The problem was related to what at the time was a high recidivism rate in Maryland – that is, the percentage of inmates who returned to the Division of Corrections within three years of their release from prison. It ranged at one point from 50% to 60%.

As you might imagine, the men who had the most trouble had the worst records – attempted murder, assault, armed robbery, theft and distribution of heroin and cocaine.

Advertisement

Getting arrested with weed caused problems for people trying to find work and housing. But, at least among the many ex-offenders I communicated with over the last two decades, not as much. They had more serious criminal records that scared off prospective employers and landlords.

Considering how attitudes and policies have changed in the years since then – fewer arrests for marijuana possession, the legalization of it for medical and now recreational use – I can’t imagine that a history with cannabis hurts job hunters as much these days.

I note this in light of the Gov. Wes Moore’s grand move – his pardons for thousands of Marylanders who were convicted of a marijuana possession misdemeanor. It’s good that the governor is clearing the books, and no doubt some will benefit directly from his action. And while it looks made for national headlines, Moore’s executive order erases some of the damages from the war on drugs and symbolizes the progressive thinking that has come, slowly and finally, to criminal justice, at least in this blue state.

Partly as a result of actions by the General Assembly, prison populations have fallen along with the recidivism rate.

“Since the 2018 implementation of the Justice Reinvestment Act, the lessening of penalties for some theft and drug possession offenses diverted inmates away from state incarceration,” says a report from the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. “From fiscal year 2015 to fiscal year 2022, the percentage of inmates serving sentences for these crimes within DOC custody dropped by 75% (theft) and 75% (drug offenses) respectively.”

Advertisement

The result of that, for the public, is a focus on inmates who committed more serious, often violent crimes.

While some of those inmates will be in prison for decades, if not life, the majority will be released at some point, and most, at least at first, will return to the communities where they started.

So, even with the progress that has been made, there’s a lot more work to be done, here and everywhere, if we want better results from the billions we pay for police, prosecutors and prisons.

The nation’s incarcerated population stands at 1.2 million, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. In Maryland, we have about 15,000 inmates in prison and, at any given time, another 12,000 state residents in local jails, according to the non-profit Prison Policy Initiative.

To make reform complete, the governor should push for an overhaul of our correctional system and a restart with a fully holistic focus – that is, ensuring that inmates leave prison in better shape than when they arrived.

Advertisement

All prisons should be restructured to be intensely therapeutic. Hire more social workers, psychologists, life coaches and vocational specialists to change lives behind the walls.

Gestures are easy, reform is hard.

Reform means changing the way we do things, putting corrections in corrections. The governor can pardon people who got caught with marijuana; he can also turn our prisons into places that, while satisfying the demand for punishment, provide a solid second chance for men and women who got off to a bad start in life.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Maryland

Scorching temperatures return with severe storms possible in evening

Published

on

Scorching temperatures return with severe storms possible in evening


Find a cool spot and brace for a sweltering day.

The National Weather Service is calling for the return of hot and humid conditions in Baltimore and along Maryland’s I-95 corridor on Wednesday. Temperatures could climb to the mid to upper 90s, though the humidity could make it feel closer to 100 to 105 degrees.

Forecasters said conditions could break single-day temperatures records for June 26. The Baltimore area is expected to reach 99 degrees, a temperature that would match the region’s single-day record last logged in 1954.

Later in the afternoon and evening, forecasters are also calling for scattered severe thunderstorms capable of producing damaging wind gusts, large hail and even isolated tornadoes.

Advertisement

The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.

This article may be updated.





Source link

Continue Reading

Maryland

Maryland teacher’s union president to step down Aug. 1 after six years in job – Maryland Matters

Published

on

Maryland teacher’s union president to step down Aug. 1 after six years in job – Maryland Matters


Whether it’s been an educational challenge, praise for student achievement or even questionable state legislation, Cheryl Bost has usually had a few words to say about it.

But Bost, an elementary school educator for 35 years who has served since August 2018 as president of the Maryland State Education Association, won’t be heard from so much come this August. That’s because she will retire from the education profession after July 31.

“I love teaching. I love my union work. I love being an advocate and speaking up for all the students and educators. It’s been fun,” Bost said in an interview Tuesday.

But stepping back doesn’t mean stepping away: On Tuesday morning, Bost could be seen in  a video with Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D), endorsing Alsobrooks in her race for U.S. Senate against former Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in November.

Advertisement

In an interview later in the day, Bost recalled that Hogan called the teacher’s union “thugs” during his time as governor, when he vetoed the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future legislation in 2020. The legislature overrode the veto the following year.

“Larry Hogan, as governor, never worked with educators. He never met with the union. He vetoed the Blueprint,” Bost said. “If it was about public education, Larry Hogan was opposed to it in all shapes and forms.”

Her comments hours after a state Board of Education meeting in downtown Baltimore, where Bost has been advocating for teachers at least once a month. The topic Tuesday was an update on college and career readiness (CCR) standards, one of the priorities in the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform plan.

Although Bost said she supports the state’s college and career readiness goals, she noted that some of them were set prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She summarized how proposed additional CCR resources, such as smaller class sizes, school counselors meeting with families and having an “all hands-on deck is great. It is not reality.”

Advertisement

In terms of school counselors, Bost said that while the American School Counselor Association says Maryland public schools have an average of 319 students for every one counselor, “I can tell you in some of the high schools with 2,000 students, that’s closer to 500 or 600 students per counselor,” she said. “So, those things are still impacting implementation.”

Before Bost finished her testimony at Tuesday’s board meeting, she introduced Paul Lemle and Nikki Woodward, who will begin their tenures Aug. 1 with the state teacher’s union as president and vice president, respectively.

Lemle is a national board-certified teacher who teaches social studies at Reservoir High School in Howard County. Woodward is a 25-year educator in Montgomery County who is the teacher’s union’s vice president in that jurisdiction.

As for Bost, she plans to take a vacation out of state and just relax.

“I’m taking a couple of months to do nothing and see what the next adventure might bring,” she said.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Maryland

How the latest cyberattack is affecting prospective car buyers in Maryland — and nationwide – WTOP News

Published

on

How the latest cyberattack is affecting prospective car buyers in Maryland — and nationwide – WTOP News


Car dealerships around the country are the latest victims of a cyberattack. Hackers went after a company, CDK Global, that makes software used by car dealers both here in the U.S. and in Canada.

Car dealerships around the country are the latest victims of a cyberattack.

Hackers went after a company, CDK Global, that makes software used by car dealers both here in the U.S. and in Canada.

It started last week and fallout continues to be felt Tuesday.

Advertisement

Peter Kitzmiller is the president of the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association. He joined WTOP’s Shawn Anderson and Anne Kramer to talk about it.


President of the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association Peter Kitzmiller talks with WTOP’s Shawn Anderson and Anne Kramer about the CDK cyberattack affecting car dealerships around the country.

 

Advertisement

The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.

Shawn Anderson: So when did car dealers in Maryland first realize that something was wrong and what transactions or issues have come as a result of this cyberattack?

Peter Kitzmiller: So I think we were we were made — or the dealerships were made — aware at like 2 a.m. last Wednesday. So it’s already been almost a week now. And so it’s had a pretty significant impact right off the bat. I mean, we’re like every other business, everything’s run by computers, processing your new car, used car purchase, making your appointment in the service department, communicating with customers — all those things, even the phone systems were impacted.

I think the biggest issue was, in Maryland, when you go to buy a car, the dealership provides either with a part tag or a temporary tag. All that is done electronically through the dealer management system, like CDK. That was an issue, but we’ve been working with MVA and so that part of the transaction, we can absolutely get you tags now. And that’s not going to be an issue going forward.

Anne Kramer: What has been the toughest part? I mentioned about going old school, some dealerships are. Is that what you’re seeing in Maryland, with some of the dealerships here, they’re having to use pen and paper?

Advertisement

Peter Kitzmiller: Absolutely, that is part of it. Some of those things are going to have to go back, you know, 30 years ago. And again, transmitting information to a lender on behalf of a customer, all those things have been a little bit, have been made more complex, because we don’t have the system back up and running yet. But I do want to tell everyone that if you’re considering buying a car, you’ve been working with the dealership, absolutely they’ve got workarounds — they’re going to make it work.

If you haven’t been contacted as quickly as you normally would, or you’re having a harder time making a service appointment. That’s where that impact is going to be felt. But again, I certainly would encourage everyone, if you’ve been looking at a car online or whatever, don’t hesitate to go into the dealership because we are coming up with workarounds.

Shawn Anderson: How much of a financial impact though has this had on dealerships in Maryland over the past few days?

Peter Kitzmiller: I don’t think we could put a number on it yet. There’s no question it is going to have a financial impact. I think it’s going to be pretty significant. Car dealerships are very cash intensive businesses, a lot of employees and, you know, you go a day when you can’t transact any business, there’s going to be a cost associated with that.

Anne Kramer: Peter, has every car dealership in Maryland been impacted by this?

Advertisement

Peter Kitzmiller: Not necessarily. So there’s really two categories of people that have been directly impacted. If you’re one of the dealerships that used CDK for what we call DMS or your dealer management system, then yes, you’ve been significantly impacted. Then there’s a subset of electronic commerce called CVR. If you use them, they’re a subsidiary of CDK. So they have been impacted as well.

So the dealers that have CDK as their primary dealer management system has been impacted the most, but every dealer has probably had some issue because they work together, they work with various vendors that are across platforms, but it’s primarily those dealers that use CDK. Again CDK was one of the biggest players in the industry. I think they have 15,000 dealership rooftops across the country. So they’re certainly a very, very significant part of the industry.

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending