§ 3-508

Maryland § 3-508

• Jurisdiction: Maryland
• Article gps: Public Safety
• Title: 3

Text

(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.

(2) “Commission” means the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission.

(3) “Law enforcement agency” has the meaning stated in § 3–201 of this title.

(4) “Office” means the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy.

(5) “Police officer” has the meaning stated in § 3–201 of this title.

(6) “SWAT team” means a special unit composed of two or more police officers within a law enforcement agency trained to deal with unusually dangerous or violent situations and having special equipment and weapons, including rifles more powerful than those carried by regular police officers.

(b) Every 6 months, beginning July 1, 2022, a law enforcement agency that maintains a SWAT team shall report the following information to the Office using the format developed under subsection (c) of this section:

(1) the number of times the SWAT team was activated and deployed by the law enforcement agency in the previous 6 months;

(2) the name of the county or county and municipal corporation and the zip code of the location where the SWAT team was deployed for each activation;

(3) the reason for each activation and deployment of the SWAT team;

(4) the legal authority, including type of warrant, if any, for each activation and deployment of the SWAT team; and

(5) the result of each activation and deployment of the SWAT team, including:

(i) the number of arrests made, if any;

(ii) whether property was seized;

(iii) whether a forcible entry was made;

(iv) whether a weapon was discharged by a SWAT team member; and

(v) whether a person or domestic animal was injured or killed by a SWAT team member.

(c) The Commission, in consultation with the Office, shall develop a standardized format that each law enforcement agency shall use in reporting data to the Office under subsection (b) of this section.

(d) A law enforcement agency shall:

(1) compile the data described in subsection (b) of this section for each 6–month period as a report in the format required under subsection (c) of this section; and

(2) not later than the 15th day of the month following the 6–month period that is the subject of the report, submit the report to:

(i) the Office; and

(ii) 1. the local governing body of the jurisdiction served by the law enforcement agency that employs the SWAT team that is the subject of the report; or

2. if the jurisdiction served by the law enforcement agency that employs the SWAT team that is the subject of the report is a municipal corporation, the chief executive officer of the jurisdiction.

(e) (1) The Office shall analyze and summarize the reports of law enforcement agencies submitted under subsection (d) of this section.

(2) Before September 1 each year, the Office shall:

(i) submit a report of the analyses and summaries of the reports of law enforcement agencies described in paragraph (1) of this subsection to the Governor, the General Assembly as provided in § 2–1257 of the State Government Article, and each law enforcement agency; and

(ii) publish the report on its website.

(f) (1) If a law enforcement agency fails to comply with the reporting provisions of this section, the Office shall report the noncompliance to the Commission.

(2) On receipt of a report of noncompliance, the Commission shall contact the law enforcement agency and request that the agency comply with the required reporting provisions.

(3) If the law enforcement agency fails to comply with the required reporting provisions of this section within 30 days after being contacted by the Commission with a request to comply, the Office and the Commission jointly shall report the noncompliance to the Governor and the Legislative Policy Committee of the General Assembly.