Maryland lawmakers are trying to crack down on growing gang violence with a slew of bills that would make it easier for officials to identify and prosecute known gang members.
“We are behind in this state,” said Harford County Sheriff Jesse Bane. “If we don’t act now, one day we are going to wake up and gangs will have overcome our counties.”
In Montgomery County, roughly 147 inmates a day tell police they are involved in a gang, said John McCarthy, state’s attorney for the county.
“They are allying themselves in these correction facilities,” he said.
Maryland State Police estimate that about 600 gangs with a total of 9,000 members operate in Maryland.
» 600: Estimated number of gangs in Maryland
» 9,000: Estimated number of gang members in Maryland
» 857: Number of gang-related prosecutions in Montgomery County since 2007
» 0: Number of gang-related prosecutions at state level since 2007
» 58: Percentage of local law enforcement agencies in the United States that said gangs were present in their jurisdictions in 2009, compared with 38 percent in 2004.
Source: Evidence cited at the House of Delegates hearing
Gangs were once concentrated in urban areas, said Del. Sally Jameson, D-Charles County, but now they are infiltrating Maryland’s rural jurisdictions.
“This is not an urban problem, it’s not a suburban problem,” she said. “Gangs are in every corner of our state.”
The House is considering dozens of gang-related bills, but one in particular is gaining considerable momentum with the support of the police, the attorney general and nearly two dozen delegates.
The Maryland Gang Prosecution Act would define “criminal gangs” and “criminal gang members,” broaden the types of crime considered gang activity, and make it easier for the state to prosecute known gang members.
The bill builds on legislation passed in 2007 that police and state prosecutors say is ineffective.
“The state has not successfully prosecuted one single gang member under the 2007 legislation,” said Patricia Jessamy, state’s attorney for Baltimore City.
Under current law, nearly every jurisdiction has a different definition for gang members, making census counts and data-sharing nearly impossible, Jessamy said.
“Exchanging information is the bread and butter of working on this problem,” Bane said.
In Virginia, lawmakers addressed cross-border gang activity with a 2004 law allowing the attorney general’s office to establish multijurisdiction grand juries.
Since 2003, the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force has brought local, state and federal resources to bear on local gangs. A report last fall said the gangs are now on the run.
This year, Virginia lawmakers are looking at increasing information sharing between juvenile courts and law enforcement regarding a juvenile’s gang involvement.
A similar bill allowing school officials and police to share information on suspected student gang members will go before Maryland’s House Ways and Means Committee Wednesday.
Bane said most gang members in Harford aren’t local, and he is concerned that Maryland could become a “safe haven” for them.
“They are sophisticated and they are out there wreaking havoc in our communities.”
Freeman Klopott contributed to this report.
