Final Recommendations Released from Effective Law Enforcement for All's (ELEFA) Audit of the County Police

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich last week was joined by Montgomery County Police Department Chief Marcus Jones and Reimagining Public Safety Task Force Co-Chair Bernice Mireku-North for a presentation of the final recommendations by Effective Law Enforcement for All (ELEFA) that offer improvements for Montgomery County Police in officer education, supervision, practices, accountability and public transparency.

The full report can be found here. To view the press conference of the presentation, click here.

Since July 2020, ELEFA has partnered with County officials, the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD), the Reimagining Public Safety (RPS) Task Force and local residents to identify, evaluate and recommend structural and systemic improvements the department can implement to achieve a shared vision of safe and effective law enforcement.

ELEFA’s audit included evaluation of the department’s organizational culture, policies, resources, transparency, procedures and operations. The preliminary report, issued in June 2021, identified a number of opportunities for improvement. Since then, ELEFA has continued its audit, working in close cooperation with MCPD and other constituent organizations.

“Too often law enforcement has been left to manage situations that society has failed to address that is neither their job nor responsibility,” said County Executive Elrich. “There has been a misconception that we have to choose between public safety, transparency and accountability. We need public safety, but that can only be achieved through a partnership between police and the community. I believe adopting many of the recommendations made by Effective Law Enforcement for All will further our reimagining public safety efforts and build safer communities throughout the County. By improving trainings as well as expanding our efforts to address mental health, we will provide more meaningful help for people in crisis with fewer negative interactions.”

ELEFA’s David Douglas said the final report reflected the input of many people.

“Since July 2020, Effective Law Enforcement for All has partnered with County officials, the MCPD, the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force, and local residents to identify, evaluate and recommend structural and systemic improvements the department can implement to achieve a shared vision of safe and effective law enforcement in Montgomery County, MD,” said Mr. Douglas. “Our report is truly the product of constructive collaboration between County stakeholders, the public and the department. The efforts of the MCPD, the County and members of the RPS Task Force are a testimony to the power of collaborative change. Your work will not only have a positive impact on policing in Montgomery County, but will serve as a model for communities nationwide. We look forward to our continued work with Montgomery County to support the implementation of our recommendations.”

Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones said his department is moving quickly to implement recommendations from the report.

“For more than a year, the Montgomery County Police Department has worked closely with Effective Law Enforcement for All with one goal in mind – to improve the law enforcement services we provide to the more than one million residents in our County,” said Chief Jones. “We have already implemented some of the changes recommended in the report, particularly in the areas of training and crisis intervention. We have created a new De-escalation/Use of Force training unit for more specific focus on these important issues. We have also improved our Crisis Intervention program by working with the Behavioral Health Crisis Collaboration on a response model that will help officers respond more efficiently to calls or, in some cases, not responding to a call when more appropriate services are available.”

The Elrich administration has invested in the continued expansion of the Mobile Crisis and Outreach Teams (MCOTs). Those teams have increased the calls that receive a mental health provider only or a joint mental health provider and law enforcement response.

In 2020, MCOTs responded to 495 calls for service. In 2021, that number increased to 979. The expansion will continue and move to more mental health professional-only responses. Moving more mental health responses away from police responses allows the police to focus on other law enforcement challenges and crime prevention measures, provides more meaningful help for people in mental health crises and results in fewer negative interactions. To continue to divert mental health calls away from the criminal justice system, the County, with support from the Maryland General Assembly, is building a Restoration Center that will further divert those experiencing a mental health or addiction crisis away from the criminal justice system and toward additional treatment services.

Key recommendations in the final report include:

• Use of Force: ELEFA made several recommendations to improve the training, management and investigation of uses of force.
• Mental Health and Crisis Response: Building on the observations in the preliminary report, ELEFA has made recommendations intended to improve the County’s capacity to respond to individuals experiencing a mental or emotional health crisis, to enhance officer mental health crisis response training and to ensure better understanding by officers and the public of the resources available.
• Internal Investigations: ELEFA made recommendations to ensure that uses of force and misconduct complaints are independently, uniformly and transparently investigated and reported.
• Training: ELEFA made a series of recommendations to improve the quality of recruit and in-service training, including Field Officer Training (FTO) and to expand training to improve cultural sensitivity and reduce the risks presented by explicit and implicit bias. ELEFA recommends that the academy emphasize a “guardian” approach over a “warrior” mindset, which was also a recommendation of the RPS Task Force.
• Data Collection and Analysis: ELEFA recommended improvements to the MCPD’s data analysis systems to achieve user-friendly, integrated and comprehensive data analysis capacity.
• Early Warning and Intervention System (EWIS): One of the key recommendations is that MCPD adopt an Early Warning and Intervention System. By flagging warning signs that an officer is demonstrating performance issues or is suffering from emotional, mental or physical health concerns, an effective and comprehensive EWIS system allows supervisors to intervene proactively to prevent harm to the officer or the public, thus saving careers and lives.
• Body Worn Cameras: Recommended expanded deployment of Body Worn Cameras (BWCs) and improvements to the standards guiding the recording of officers’ interactions on duty.
• Recruitment: recommendations intended to strengthen an already robust MCPD recruitment program, including more intentional consideration of diversity and inclusion, competitive compensation, incentives and enhanced technology (for background investigators).

MCPD will also hire a civilian to oversee the police training curriculum to direct development of law enforcement training materials. The investment will help to keep the MCPD training current with national best practices, improve tracking of the training received and have a strategic approach to offering continuous learning and improvement opportunities to our officers.

“I’m grateful Effective Law Enforcement Change for All completed the audit necessary to help us evolve into what public safety should look like in Montgomery County,” said Reimagining Public Safety Task Force Co-Chair Bernice Mireku-North. “Thanks to the cooperation and commitments from our County Executive, Chief of Police, Fraternal Order of Police and other County stakeholders, our community can now move forward with concrete changes the community desires in our police department and public safety in general. I look forward to convening with the task force members to review and discuss the audit to help with the necessary changes to make Montgomery County safe for all of us.”

County Leveraged Existing and New Finance and Policy Tools to Reduce Housing Cost Burdens and Serve Communities

The Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) in Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021 leveraged existing and new finance and policy tools to preserve current affordable housing and increase the number of rent-regulated units for people with low incomes. These and other results are summarized in a new report.

The affordable housing efforts focused on households with low incomes because the County has more than 20,000 households that are severely housing-cost burdened, earning less than $31,000 per year and spending more than half of their income on rent. It is projected that one in four new households in 2030 will have incomes with less than 50 percent of area median income.

“We are applying every available policy tool and financial resource to help reduce housing cost burdens by increasing the number of affordable, rent-regulated housing units; providing rent supports; and, preserving current affordable housing while protecting tenants from displacement,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “Through these efforts, we are leveraging opportunities to fight climate change and close gaps in racial inequities. With the implementation of this plan, we will continue to enable more people to be able to afford to live in Montgomery County.”

Across the two years, DHCA efforts reduced housing cost burdens through a range of strategies that preserved and produced affordable housing and protect people who are most vulnerable. To expand opportunities to preserve and increase affordable housing, the County grew FY22 housing funding to a record $90 million.

FY20-21 highlights, as indicated in the annual report, include:

• Annually supported approximately 6,300 affordable housing units through financing to establish long-term affordability, rental assistance to maintain affordability, support for home purchasing and MPDUs (moderately-priced dwelling units). Included in this total is annual support for preservation and production of approximately 1,000 more rent-regulated affordable housing units.
• Implemented No Net Loss to preserve 564 units of naturally occurring affordable housing (“NOAH”) at Halpine View and assure then-current residents will have opportunity to stay in the event of redevelopment. This is a strategy that can be leveraged more broadly across the County.
• Pursued the County’s Right of First Refusal to preserve existing affordable housing at Naples Manor and introduced the Affordable Housing Opportunity Fund to provide short-term loans that support developers in moving quickly to acquire and preserve at-risk affordable housing.
• Leveraged County-owned land to achieve deeply affordable housing units at Randolph Road/Bushey Drive as well as Halpine View Apartments. Created homeownership opportunities for residents with modest incomes through the Montgomery Homeownership Program and homeownership units at Randolph Road/Bushey Drive.
• Supported thousands of renters and landlords, as part of COVID response and recovery, by promoting rental assistance paid to landlords and arranging legal help and support services for renters. Deferred loan payments for affordable apartment properties in response to high rates of renter delinquency.
• Leveraged Federal funds to support acquisition and renovation of a commercial building into a 214-bed shelter, bringing homeless shelter capacity to approximately 300 beds year-round and replacing the temporary facilities used during the public health emergency.
• Supported adaptive reuse of commercial property for conversion to affordable residential units for seniors.

“We appreciate the support of the entire Montgomery County community. DHCA leveraged Federal, State and County resources with for-profit and nonprofit partners in providing services to our community,” said DHCA Director Aseem K. Nigam. “Our work is not done. We will continue working to create affordable, safe and attractive housing and neighborhoods.”

County Executive Elrich Supports ‘Fare Equity Study’ Recommendations to Benefit Riders and Extend Free Fares for Ride On Buses Through Jan. 1

Montgomery County Ride On bus fares will remain free through Jan. 1 following a recommendation by County Executive Marc Elrich that was approved this week by the County Council. County Executive Elrich has supported using the period to look at the “Fare Equity Study” conducted by the County Department of Transportation (MCDOT).

Like most other regional bus services, MCDOT temporarily instituted free fares with the onset of the COVID-19 health crisis. However, when many other transit agencies in the region resumed fare collection, Ride On continued its “fare holiday” to extend free service.

The Fare Equity Study examined potential fare scenarios in comparison to reimplementing the pre-existing $2 bus fare. The study’s recommendations are based on how fares would impact low-income and economically vulnerable residents, reduce barriers to access transit and improve overall ridership long-term.

Based on the findings of the study, County Executive Elrich is recommending that the Council implement a reduced standard fee to $1 and retain fare-free programs such as Kids Ride Free and Seniors and Persons with Disabilities Ride Free. The study recommends the balance of benefits and costs, with benefits primarily accruing to the populations the County is hoping to support.

“Equitable transit access is at the forefront of everything we do,” said MCDOT Director Chris Conklin. “We appreciate that the County Executive and Council have taken the time to allow for a thorough review of impacts before making a long-term decision on bus fare.”

On Sept. 23, the board of directors of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA, or Metro) discussed a reduced fare policy for its operations, including consideration of a $1 fare for Metrobuses.

County Executive Elrich said transit authorities must consider potential revised policies to best serve riders on a regional level.

“Reducing Ride On fares helps our low- and fixed-income residents who often must travel by transit; it helps address equity gaps and supports public transit, which is good for our environment,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “This County is too expensive to afford for those who don’t earn a lot - we must keep transportation costs for these residents to a minimum. I support a $1 standard fare while retaining our fare-free programs such as Kids Ride Free and Seniors Ride Free, which also includes members of our disabled community. This approach balances benefits and costs, and these benefits primarily accrue for populations we want to support.”

 
While instating a $1 fare is a recommendation for immediate action, MCDOT was advised by WMATA that the actual implementation of a changed fare requires a minimum of 60 days to take effect in the Smartrip system. The timing restrictions place the earliest possible new fare around Jan. 1. If the $1 fare is adopted by January, implementation would allow for needed system changes and rider notification.

The study has been posted online at, https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/DOT-Transit/fare-equity/.

Montgomery County’s Green Government Report Confirms Sustainable Operations are Strong Across County Departments

Montgomery County’s Department of General Services (DGS) has published the fiscal year 2017 Montgomery County Green Government Report, which reports the County’s progress with energy efficiency, green buildings, smart growth, water conservation, biodiversity, waste reduction, green transportation, renewable resources, and resiliency.

A highlight of the report is that the County is now a carbon-neutral government through energy efficiency, renewable energy investment, and energy purchases. This puts the County on track to save $70 million over the next 20 years through energy efficiency improvements, negotiations with energy suppliers and solar energy generation on County facilities.

All County departments and agencies play a significant role in greening County government, with the DGS Office of Energy and Sustainability (OES) as the hub for these efforts. OES is managed by Eric Coffman who was named to the Energy Manager Today 75 list on May 1. The list, selected by the Editorial and Management team at Business Sector Media, recognizes the nation’s top 75 executives in energy management.

For more details, or to review the report go to www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dgs-oes.

Montgomery County FY16 Annual Sustainable Government Operations Report

The Montgomery County FY16 Sustainable Government Operations Report (pdf) is now available online. This Report documents the County’s efforts to reduce the environmental impact of County Government Operations.

This report highlights the exceptional work of Montgomery County government in its continuing role as a leader in environmental stewardship. The report notes the collective work of the Departments of Corrections, Environmental Protection, General Services, Health and Human Services, Finance, Liquor Control, Permitting Services, Police, Public Libraries, Recreation, Technology Services, Transportation, Human Resources; and the Offices of Human Resources and Procurement.