Bill discussed in Maryland to improve one of state's home detention monitoring system

BALTIMORE - Maryland lawmakers are discussing a bill that would bring changes to one of the state's home detention monitoring systems. 

Senator Will Smith, chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, says the entire private home detention monitoring system is a mess. 

It's one of the systems in place that monitors people on home detention throughout Maryland.

Some lawmakers believe the way the current system is set up is a public safety issue. 

The bill, sponsored by Maryland Senator Cory McCray, requires private home detention monitoring agencies to immediately notify law enforcement and the court after a defendant on pretrial monitoring has been missing for 24 hours.

Currently, agencies are required to report a defendant missing after 48 hours or more. 

McCray introduced similar legislation during the 2023 legislative session, but that bill died in the Senate.

"Private home detention is broken," McCray said. "One of the things we should think about is when does that notification, and I think that notification should come, at minimum, within 24 hours of that person being within their care."

Under current law, when a person committed to private home monitoring goes missing, or is tracked to an unauthorized location, monitoring agencies have a full business day after a person goes missing for 24 hours to report.

"When I hear from Baltimorians and Marylanders all around the state, when they hear me talking about this issue, is that they simply cannot believe that right now this isn't an instant notification, that right now we don't know exactly where these people are."

Scott testified in favor of the bill.

During his testimony, he mentioned the Brooklyn Day mass shooting, which happened in last July.

Two people -- 18-year-old Aaliyah Gonzalez and 20-year-old Kylis Fagbemi -- were killed during the shooting, and 28 others were injured.

According to charging documents, one of the alleged shooters, Tristan Jackson, was on GPA monitoring at the time of the shooting.

"People are dying with ankle bracelets on," Scott said. "People are committing acts of violence with ankle bracelets on. That should not happen."

The bill also establishes the workgroup on home detention monitoring. 

The group will study the licensing, regulation, oversight, notification and enforcement processes before making recommendations for home monitoring in the state. 

According to the bill, the workgroup would report its findings and recommendations to the governor and General Assembly on or before December 31, 2025. 

"This is an ongoing issue," McCray said. "We cannot look at this one bill as the silver bullet, but we have to make sure that we are looking at everything that's going on with private home monitoring making sure that we address those issues. The task force will do so going forward."