Please Make Your Voice Heard Today!
The Maryland State Police have quietly drafted new regulations on the state’s ballistic imaging program, the Maryland Integrated Ballistics Identification System (MD-IBIS).
Current regulations require that “The pertinent data base be searchable for comparison purposes to shell casings from crime scenes for the purpose of identifying the source of these casings.” If the new regulations are adopted the language concerning crime scenes will be removed and require that “The pertinent data base shall be searchable for comparison purposes to shell casings that originate from handguns specified in Public Safety Article § 5-101(n), Annotated Code of Maryland.”
By eliminating the crime scene references, the database may “be searchable for comparison purposes to shell casings that are NOT from crime scenes.” Why does the Maryland State Police want to eliminate the crime scene language?
In 2005, the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division called for the scraping of the program after it stated it found the program to be an ineffective tool for law enforcement and “has not met the expectations and does not aid in the Mission statement of the Department of State Police” and costing the taxpayers of Maryland over $2.5 million dollars. Now, the Maryland State Police are looking to expand this program with no cause and clarification for the changes.
These changes are of serious concern due to the lack of any scheduled public hearings and input from the Maryland General Assembly. The public may comment on these changes until Monday, April 28. Please contact Jay Tobin, Director of Forensic Sciences Division, IMMEDIATELY and respectfully voice your concern and disapproval of these new regulations. Contact information can be found below.
Jay Tobin, Director of Forensic Sciences Division,
Department of State Police
221 Milford Mill Road,
Pikesville, MD 21208
Phone: (443) 357-1301
Fax: (443) 357-1310
Email: [email protected]
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