September 13, 2008|By Justin Fenton | Justin Fenton,justin.fenton@baltsun.com
SILVER SPRING - Maryland, Washington and Virginia have begun sharing daily arrest information for violent offenders throughout the region, a new partnership that officials said opens the borders for law enforcement while increasing pressure on repeat criminals.
The initiative was announced yesterday at a regional summit where Gov. Martin O'Malley, Washington Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine met to discuss safety and transportation issues, including how to address increased strains on public transportation and maintaining and improving Metrorail.
Since mid-2007, law enforcement agencies in Maryland and the District have exchanged live arrest data to help parole and probation agents in each jurisdiction get repeat violent offenders off the street. The two jurisdictions have shared information on more than 900 arrestees to date, and Virginia joined the effort last month.
Officials compile a list of those arrested each day, along with their FBI identification numbers, and those lists are compared against parole and probation rosters to determine if that arrest should trigger a violation. The jurisdictions notify one another through an e-mail, officials said.
In many cases, parole and probation agents previously relied on offenders to report the violations themselves.
"By sharing information and by serving warrants in a timely fashion, we can save a lot of families a lot of heartache and we can bring down violent crime," O'Malley said.
But the results remain unclear. Yesterday, O'Malley cited improvements in Baltimore's homicide rate, and while police statistics show killings are down 30 percent compared to last year - putting the city on pace for one of the biggest decreases in its history - violent crime is unchanged from a year ago.
Yesterday's summit, held at the corporate headquarters of the Discovery Channel, was the third between the three chief executives. Last year, they pledged to continue to work together on issues such as air quality, transportation, the Chesapeake Bay and tourism.
Officials said yesterday that they would push for federal funding to ensure the Metrorail, with 350 million passengers visits a year, meets the needs of the region. Ridership on the aging system has risen along with gas prices, the executives said.
They also expressed a commitment to a connection to Dulles Airport and future projects that could connect suburban communities with Washington, and announced a streamlined application process that will help small disadvantaged businesses apply for federal funding.
