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 Sharing Our Stake in Maryland's Public Safety | August 2011 |
The Public Safety Stakeholder
 An E-publication of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services for our Criminal Justice and Community Partners |
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Did You See Us
In The News?
Recent sightings of our public safety efforts in your local media are updated daily on the DPSCS homepage
Recent headlines:
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Criminal Justice Training Conference
The Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention is hosting a
Criminal Justice Training Conference
October 13 -14 at Washington College for public safety agencies. Training will include major initiatives, collaborative efforts and advancements that are supporting Maryland's fight against crime.
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There are more ways than ever to find up-to-date information about DPSCS initiatives, happenings and news. Like us on  , follow us on  and view videos and photos on  and  .
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DPSCS' mission is to protect the public, our employees and those under our supervision.
Governor Martin O'Malley Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown
DPSCS Secretary Gary D. Maynard |
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A Washington College Professor talks to inmates at the Jessup Correctional Institution as part of "Partners In Philosophy" series |
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 | keeping communities safe |
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Warrant Feature Vital Part of Criminal Justice Dashboard
During the Summer Jumpstart Warrant Initiative this past June more than 1,000 open warrants were cleared and 635 violent offenders arrested in Baltimore City. Spearheaded by the Mayor's Office, the initiative was a team effort that included the Baltimore City Police Department, the Baltimore City Sheriff's Office, Maryland State Police, the Department of Juvenile Services and our Division of Parole and Probation - funding was provided by the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention.
Thanks to a feature that is now part of the Maryland Criminal Justice Dashboard, clearing warrants - most often issued by the courts and served by local law enforcement - for efforts like Jumpstart is a whole lot easier. Continued here |
 | believing in human capital |
Washington College Student Helps Inmates Engage in Critical Thinking
A Washington College rising senior this summer organized "Partners in Philosophy," a lecture series given by his school's faculty to interested inmates at Jessup Correctional Institution, a medium-security institution for men.
"The real thrust of this program is to help build critical thinking skills," said Jim Schelberg, who is majoring in Philosophy and the Humanities at the Eastern Shore school. "I think these guys have been in prison long enough that they have a real hunger for learning, a real hunger for knowledge," he said.
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 | public safety works |
Have You Seen a Public Safety Works Project Around Maryland?
With over 400 offenders working around the state on any given weekday,  Public Safety Works projects are constantly making a difference in local towns, public parks and along Maryland's roadways. While State Highway road crews aren't hard to miss, you may not always recognize that improvement and maintenance projects you pass on a daily basis are part of this effort.
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Warrant Feature Vital Part of Criminal Justice Dashboard continued
Since 2008, the Dashboard, a web-based application consolidating 100 databases from 22 agencies into a single platform, has become the clearinghouse of state criminal justice data and tools.
In the past, a paper copy of a warrant issued by the court was picked up by the serving agency and entered in criminal justice databases. If a law enforcement agency happened to search for an individual in that database a "possible hit" would alert them to contact the serving agency for more information.
Today when the courts enter a warrant in their own system it appears in Dashboard in almost real-time. And unlike "possible hits" of the past, full details of a warrant are available to the law enforcement agent searching for an individual in Dashboard.
"This is a valuable tool for law enforcement because of the fast flow of information - allowing them to get a full picture of a suspect in five minutes rather than five days of searching various databases," said Ron Brothers, Chief Information Officer for the Department's Information Technology and Communications Division.
In addition, a mapping feature in Dashboard allows law enforcement to see the last known address of all offenders in Maryland who have an open warrant. This feature can also help better allocate resources - if an agency knows they are going to serve a warrant they can check for other open warrants in the area that also need served. Return to story intro |
Washington College Student Helps Inmates Engage in Critical Thinking continued
On the last day of the series, about 25 assembled inmates had plenty of questions for Donald McColl, professor of Art History for Washington College. McColl was one of four professors involved in the series.
The inmates, a self-selecting group facilitated by the JCI librarian, wrote two short papers and one longer final paper during the lecture series. Schelberg and Jared Rankin, another Washington College student, provided written feedback on the assignments.
The program is all-volunteer.
Schelberg entered Washington College after an initial stint as a Marine in Iraq. He left school a few years later to deploy to Afghanistan. During his deployments, he saw how easily the uneducated are exploited, he said. While the Middle East and a Jessup prison are two completely different worlds, "I really was wondering if a lot of the situations that they guys get into, why they end up in prison with long or life sentences ... was lack of education a key factor?" he said.
Schelberg hopes to design a second lecture series this coming winter. "Education really is the key to living an independent and fruitful life," he said.
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Have You Seen a Public Safety Works Project Around Maryland continued
A new logo identifying Public Safety Works adorns posters along some of our larger, routine projects such as recent restoration to Baltimore City's Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. And a newly completed brick sign near the entrance to Warfield in Sykesville, as well as on the grounds of public building in Annapolis and a cemetery in Williamsport. Don't be surprised if you see more popping up in places you never realized were a result of this innovative program.
Public Safety Works projects are giving offenders the opportunity to invest themselves into the community they have harmed - and will soon return to - a powerful and significant part of rehabilitation and reentry.
Secretary Gary D. Maynard constantly encourages local community leaders to "show me your ugliest spot in town" so he can send a crew to improve it. If your government/non-profit agency is looking for assistance contact our public safety works coordinator John Rowley at 301-729-7690 or jrowley@dpscs.state.md.us.
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