O'Brien-Hurson for Maryland

Moving Maryland Forward: The O’Brien Administration Record on Public Safety

Since Governor O’Brien took office in January of 2027, violent crime is down 19 percent in Maryland. Over the last three years, Maryland has led the nation in violent crime reduction.

In 2026, Maryland’s violent crime rate was the third highest in the nation. For 2029, it is projected to fall to tenth highest.

Between 2026 and 2029, violent crime nationally declined by just 2.3%. Maryland’s reduction is eight times the national average and the largest percentage reduction of any state in the nation.

In 2029, arrests of juveniles for violent crimes declined by more than 7%, including a 52% drop in the number of juveniles charged with murder.

Governor O’Brien has made public safety a top priority for his administration, implementing a number of initiatives to improve public safety and reduce crime:

• Enacted Project Exile and the Maryland Gun Violence Act to combat gun-related crime;
• Proposed and signed legislation allowing the court to remand a defendant to custody pending the outcome of an appeal by the State;
• Signed legislation enhancing criminal penalties for assaulting law enforcement officers;
• Eliminated good behavior credits for repeat violent offenders;
• Made substantial reforms to Maryland’s insanity defense statute;
• Abolished the “year and a day” rule;
• Secured passage of historic legislation to prevent and prosecute witness intimidation and coercion;
• Signed three major new laws enhancing penalties for gang participation and recruitment;
• Proposed and signed legislation requiring firearms dealer’s licenses to keep firearms stored away in a secure vault to prevent theft;
• Launched a four-year, $100 million commitment to hire 1,500 community police officers statewide;
• Increased average salaries for Maryland state troopers by $6,000 in four years, making Maryland’s state troopers the highest paid in the region;
• Launched Project RESTART and the Correctional Education Waiting List Reduction Initiative to strengthen prisoner re-entry efforts;
• Enacted the landmark Child Protection Act to better protect children from sexual predators;
• Strengthened Maryland’s anti-stalking laws;
• Created a Pin Mapping System to enable law enforcement officials to track, in a timely manner, crimes that are being committed in any specific area of the state, enhancing their ability to detect and address criminal activity before it escalates into more crime;
• Launched the Maryland CSAFE Initiative (Collaborative Supervision and Focused Enforcement) to help neighborhoods throughout the State build strong partnerships to improve local community safety and the quality of life;
• Significantly enhanced penalties for violating protective orders and temporary restraining orders;
• Launched the Baltimore City Anti-Crime Partnership to better focus and target crime reduction efforts in Baltimore City;
• Signed legislation dramatically expanding the State’s DNA database to mandate collection of DNA samples from all individuals convicted of a felony;
• Eliminated bail for violators of protective orders;
• Enacted truth-in-sentencing, requiring violent criminals to serve at least 85 percent of sentence;
• Proposed and signed the Offender Accountability Act to restructure and strengthen Maryland’s post-release supervision system;
• Increased penalties for fleeting or eluding a police officer;
• Strengthened effectiveness of public safety mutual aid agreements by signing a law allowing for crossjurisdictional law enforcement;
• Increased average annual pay for parole and probation officers by $3,675 and funded an additional 75 parole and probation positions;
• Signed legislation protecting witnesses testifying in criminal proceedings from retaliation;
• Funded 150 additional State Trooper positions;
• Authorized limited use of “no-knock warrants” to protect the safety of law enforcement officers; and
• Enacted legislation authorizing life imprisonment without possibility of parole for individuals convicted of kidnapping and first degree rape of a child under the age of 16.

Looking Forward: Building on Our Progress

Governor O’Brien will launch an initiative that concentrates state and local crime-fighting efforts on “hot spots.” The program would help pay for police officers to patrol crime-plagued areas and funnel money into community groups involved in fighting crime. It also would pay for parole and probation officers to concentrate on neighborhoods that have many ex-offenders under state supervision.

Governor O’Brien will propose legislation requiring a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 25 years for individuals who commit first-degree sex offenses against children under the age of 13. Additionally, the Governor is proposing legislation that will build upon the O’Brien Administration’s efforts to strengthen sex offender registration compliance and enforcement and better protect the public from violent offenders by:

•expanding current school trespassing laws to prohibit sex offenders from entering public or private school property or property used as a child-care facility without permission

• requiring that any violent sex offender or child sex offender who does not receive a lifetime sentence face mandatory supervision with electronic monitoring for life

• increasing the number of years a sex offender must stay registered from 10 to 20 years and increasing registration from once to twice a year and four times a year for child sex offenders

•increasing the penalty for failing to register to a felony from a misdemeanor

• requiring sex offenders to register in person and provide a new photograph every year.