A group tackling mass incarceration in Maryland released recommendations Thursday and plans to produce a report by next month, in time for the General Assembly to possibly take up some of the recommendations as legislation during the 2025 session that starts Jan. 8.

The 18 recommendations from the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative (MEJC) aim to fix the imbalance in state sentencings: Black residents accounted for 32% of Maryland’s population in 2023, but about 71% of those incarcerated in the state’s correctional facilities, the group notes.

“The impact of mass incarceration extends far beyond the restrictive, steel bars to crippling the financial, social and emotional growth of families and communities,” said a statement from Public Defender Natasha Dartigue, who co-chairs the collaborative with Attorney General Anthony Brown (D).

“The ripple effect of prioritizing punitive policies and practices over data-driven approaches, coupled with racially disparate implementation, has irreparably damaged individuals and devastated communities,” her statement said.

Suggestions include a proposal for legislation that would enhance data reporting requirements to include data on race and gender; reexamine the use and efficacy of consent searches to reduce unnecessary interactions with police and allow for more appropriate utilization of law enforcement; and end nonsafety-related traffic stops.

Sen. Charles Sydnor (D-Baltimore County) is working on a bill to do just that, or at least reduce them. His legislation proposes to downgrade a number of current primary violations to secondary status, but the president of the Maryland Sheriff’s Association has said it would fight that “ridiculous” legislation.

Another MEJC proposal calls for increasing the number of people eligible for early parole considerations “due to serious medical conditions and having reached an age where they no longer pose a threat to public safety.”

Sen. Jill P. Carter (D-Baltimore City) sponsored a similar measure during the 2024 legislative session that sought to remove the governor from the medical parole process . It passed in the Senate, but stalled in the House. Del. J. Sandy Bartlett (D-Anne Arundel) sponsored a companion bill, which did not advance out of the House Judiciary Committee, where she serves as vice chair.

Members of the justice collaborative, which voted on the recommendations, include more than three dozen representatives of law enforcement, nonprofit and community groups, criminal justice reform and returning citizens.

They are separated into seven work groups: criminal law and sentencing reform; education, workforce development and economic opportunity; health and human services; law enforcement and police practices; prison, jail and detention facility reform; promoting successful reentry and preventing incarceration; and youth justice reform.

“No single person created mass incarceration, and no single person can correct its devastating effects on communities of color across Maryland,” Brown said in the statement. “These recommendations are a crucial first step in making our State fairer, and safer, for all. Just as this crisis has harmed Black communities for decades, our efforts will impact Maryland families for generations, helping them heal from the trauma of mass incarceration.”