Maryland’s Exile Partners Present Achievement Awards to Federal, State and Local Law Enforcement Officers
Baltimore, Maryland - Leaders of the local, state and federal agency partners that are together implementing Maryland’s EXILE strategy joined today to present Achievement Awards to 74 federal agents and Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, Gaithersburg, Salisbury and Maryland State Police officers whose outstanding work resulted in significant firearms or violent crime cases. The partners also recognized four Assistant State’s Attorneys from Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Frederick County, as well as two agents from the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, and an analyst from the Washington-Baltimore HIDTA.
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley gave the keynote speech and thanked the awardees and their families for their hard work and sacrifice to protect all Marylanders.
“Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are working together to combat violent crime in Maryland,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “We intend to send a powerful message that gun crime means jail time.”
EXILE is a unified and comprehensive strategy to combat gun crime initiated in Baltimore City, and Prince George’s County in 2006 and later expanded to include Wicomico and Anne Arundel Counties, Annapolis and Frederick. EXILE partners in Maryland include: the Baltimore City, Frederick, Wicomico, Anne Arundel and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Offices, the Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore, Frederick, Salisbury and Prince George’s County Police Departments, the Maryland Division of Parole and Probation, the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the United States Marshals Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO). The program combines law enforcement efforts, community action and revitalization, and public awareness. Details are available on the internet at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/md/Exile/index.html.
The EXILE strategy has led to an increasing number of federal defendants being charged with gun and other violent crimes. Many of the EXILE cases involve local gun arrests that result in lengthy federal prison sentences.
Under EXILE’s Violent Repeat Offender (VRO) initiative in Baltimore City and Prince George’s Counties, as well as similar initiatives in localities throughout Maryland, representatives from EXILE partner agencies meet regularly to identify some of the most violent individuals in the area – individuals who belong to violent gangs or organizations operating in their jurisdictions and the surrounding areas and individuals who have been charged with, or have been suspects in, shootings and murders. Some of these individuals have pending state gun, drug, or violent crime cases. Many are in violation of their parole or probation. Others have no pending charges but have lengthy and disturbing criminal histories. The members of the VRO team determine the most effective strategy for arresting and detaining each individual or gang – including violations of parole or probation, aggressive prosecution of pending state or federal charges, or proactive investigations – and monitor the status of the pending case or investigation of each such individual or group. The State’s Attorney’s Office (SAO) in each jurisdiction prosecutes defendants who have violated their probation, to get those repeat offenders off the streets.
In an effort to bring stronger cases, prosecutors from the USAO and SAOs along with federal agents and task force officers provide specialized legal training for local and federal law enforcement officers. The USAO also provides specific training on search warrants and investigative techniques.
Representatives of the Maryland Division of Parole and Probation (DPP), Baltimore Police Department (BPD), Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD), ATF, SAO, and USAO have joined forces with community activists and groups to conduct “call-in” meetings for repeat offenders. DPP and the police departments identify felons in the area who are on parole or probation for violent crimes or firearms offenses. At these meetings, representatives of the SAO, USAO, ATF, BPD, PGPD, and DPP communicate the message directly and unambiguously that these individuals are going straight back to jail if they commit another offense. City and county officials and community leaders also address the group, offering housing, educational, and job placement assistance to try to help these repeat offenders turn their lives around and to help prevent them from re-entering the cycle of violence in their communities.
In an effort to minimize the involvement of youth in gangs and violence the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Maryland State Department of Education and the Washington-Baltimore HIDTA have implemented an Anti-Gang School Outreach Program. It is designed to raise awareness among teachers, parents and school staff to recognize the presence of gangs in schools and the gang culture in the community, and to work with local law enforcement to reduce and eliminate gangs.
Maryland EXILE is a joint effort by the SAOs, BPD, PGPD, Salisbury Police Department, Frederick Police Department, the Maryland Division of Parole and Probation, the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, the United States Marshals Service, ATF, DEA, HIDTA, FBI, ICE, and the USAO.
