ORIGIN & FUNCTIONS

[photo, Hampton Plaza, 300 East Joppa Road, Towson, Maryland]

The Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention was created in 1995 by the Governor to address concerns about public safety and the prevention of crime and substance abuse (Executive Order 01.01.1995.03; Executive Order 01.01.1995.18; Executive Order 01.01.1996.05; Executive Order 01.01.2005.36). The Office formed by merging functions of the Office of Justice Administration and the Governor's Drug and Alcohol Abuse Commission. From January 1997 to 2003, the Office functioned under the Lieutenant Governor. The Cabinet Council on Criminal and Juvenile Justice provides the Office with policy direction and oversight.

The Office works to improve public safety and the administration of justice and to reduce and prevent crime, violence, delinquency, and substance abuse. To these ends, it helps draft legislation, policies, plans, programs, and budgets.

Hampton Plaza, 300 East Joppa Road, Towson, Maryland, May 2004. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

For nonprofit community groups and local and State government agencies, the Office provides access to State and federal grant programs that improve public safety. They include the Maryland After-School Community Grant Program; Body Armor for Local Law Enforcement, the Bullet-Proof Vest Program; the Governor's Drug and Alcohol Abuse Program (also known as Neighborhood Crime and Substance Abuse Prevention Grants); the Maryland Drug and Alcohol Grants Program Fund; the Maryland Victims of Crime Fund; the Edward J. Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program; the Edward J. Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program; the Children's Justice Act Committee; the Crime Mapping and Analysis Project; the Collaborative Supervision and Focused Enforcement Violence Prevention Initiative (CSAFE-VPI); the Paul Coverdell National Forensic Sciences Improvement Act; the Domestic Violence Unit Pilot Program (DVUP); Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws; the Gun Violence Reduction Grant Program; the Juvenile Accountability Block Grants Program; the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Program; the Law Enforcement Technology Program; the Law Enforcement Training Scholarship Program; the Project Safe Neighborhood Anti-Gang Initiative; Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners; the School Bus Safety Enforcement Fund; Sex Offender and Compliance Enforcement in Maryland (SOCEM); the State Challenge Grant Program; the Stop Violence Against Women Program; the Title V Delinquency Prevention Program; the Violent Offenders Incarceration and Truth-In-Sentencing Program; the Youth Strategies Initiative; and the Governor's portion of the federal Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Program.

The Office administers grants for the Maryland Police Corps, a federal college scholarship program enacted in 1996. Maryland was one of the first states chosen by the U.S. Department of Justice to recruit and train college graduates to serve four years as community police officers. Maryland Police Corps officers presently serve in the police departments of Baltimore City, Hagerstown, and Anne Arundel, Howard, Prince George's and St. Mary's counties.

Under the Office is the Criminal Justice Program (formerly the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Program) which stems from the Law Enforcement Program of the Governor's Drug and Alcohol Commission. That program became part of the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention in 1995. It was renamed the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Program in 1997, and adopted its current name in 2001.

The Criminal Justice Program administers funding and provides technical support to programs for law enforcement and the prosecution and adjudication of offenders. To improve the criminal justice system, the Program assists projects, such as community policing and alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders. Support may include the use of electronic and other technology. In addition, the Program seeks effective means of coping with drug addiction and mental illness in the criminal justice system.

Appointed by the Governor, the Executive Director serves on the Cease Fire Council, the Criminal Justice Information Advisory Board, the Maryland State Drug and Alcohol Abuse Council, the Governor's Family Violence Council, and the State Board of Victim Services.

In August 2007, the Office implemented a regional organization of programs. Federal and State grant programs now are accessed through three regional offices: Eastern, Metro, and Western. The Office staffs the Cease Fire Council and the Governor's Family Violence Council and is assisted by the Maryland Statistical Analysis Center.

CEASE FIRE COUNCIL

Eleven members serve on the Council. Seven are appointed to three-year terms by the Governor. Four serve ex officio. The Secretary of State Police chairs the Council (Code Public Safety Article, secs. 5-501 through 5-504).

GOVERNOR'S FAMILY VIOLENCE COUNCIL

The Council consists of no more than twenty-five members. Up to nine members are appointed by the Governor; four members represent the Legislature, one represents the Judiciary; one represents the Maryland State's Attorneys' Association; and ten serve ex officio.

MARYLAND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS CENTER
In March 2007, the Maryland Statistical Analysis Center was created by the Governor within the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention (Executive Order 01.01.2007.04). The Center serves as a statewide information center and repository for criminal and juvenile justice statistics and information. To State and local agencies, it provides access to federal resources for criminal and juvenile justice statistical information. The Center also coordinates research and technical assistance. Through its Research Program, the Center funds original research projects that seek out, analyze, and evaluate current policies and practices in Maryland to improve public safety. In addition, it assists the Criminal Justice Information Advisory Board.

OPERATIONS

Operations organized in August 2007. To improve public safety in Maryland, Operations helps local governments and agencies access federal and State grants to fund crime fighting strategies. Operations oversees three regional offices: Eastern, Metro, and Western.

EASTERN REGIONAL OFFICE

The Eastern Region comprises Calvert, Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's, Somerset, St. Mary's, Talbot, Wicomico and Worcester counties. Program monitors of this office assist in the full gamut of public safety grants, but also include specialists for the Children's Justice Act Funds, criminal justice, juvenile justice, school bus safety enforcement, and sex offender compliance and enforcement.

JUVENILE GRANT PLANNING & REVIEW COUNCIL

JUVENILE JUSTICE

METRO REGIONAL OFFICE

The Metro Region includes Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties, and Baltimore City. The Office provides access to all public safety fund programs as well as the Domestic Violence Unit Pilot Program, and the Violence Against Women Act Program.

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT PROGRAM
The Violence Against Women Act Program was authorized under the federal Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (P.L. 103-322). By this act, states administer funds to combat crimes of violence against women and improve legal protections for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Under the Program, law enforcement officers, court commissioners, "911" operators, judges, and state's attorneys are trained to respond effectively to violent crimes against women. Coordinated community responses to domestic violence, rape, and sexual assault are supported. In addition, the Program provides a uniform data collection system to track offenses and standardizes the processing of legal cases involving domestic violence, rape, and sexual assault.

Since 2000, the Program has administered the Domestic Violence Unit Pilot Program Fund. This fund is used by local law enforcement agencies to ensure the timely and accurate entry of civil protective and ex parte orders into databases.

PLANNING & STRATEGY COMMITTEE

WESTERN REGIONAL OFFICE

Allegany, Charles, Frederick, Garrett, Montgomery, Prince George's and Washington counties are all part of the Western Region. Office programs include the Collaborative Supervision and Focused Enforcement (CSAFE) Program, Maryland Victims of Crime Program, and the Victim Services Coordinator and the Victims' Rights Compliance Monitor.

VICTIM SERVICES PROGRAM
The Victim Services Program began in 1988, later became the Victim Services and Domestic Violence Program, and adopted its present name in 1999. The Program administers funding and provides technical support for efforts to assist victims of crime and those who suffer domestic and family violence. The Victim Services Coordinator is chosen by the Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention.

STATE BOARD OF VICTIM SERVICES

The Board advises the Governor on services needed by victims of crime. The Board also reviews the plans and annual reports of the Victim Services Coordinator as well as the implementation, operation, and revision of programs by the Coordinator.

Twenty-two members compose the Board. Sixteen are appointed to five-year terms by the Governor. The Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals names a member of the Judiciary to a five-year term. Five members serve ex officio. The Governor or Governor's designee serves as chair (Code Art. 27, secs. 837-857).

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