Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Police Complaints topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sheriff: more complaints tied to new online portal; sustained findings not up, officials say
Summary
At the March 12 St. Mary's County Police Accountability Board meeting, Sheriff Steve Hall told board members the recent increase in complaints tracks with rollout of a public complaint portal; he said sustained findings have not risen and highlighted recruitment gains.
At the St. Mary's County Police Accountability Board meeting on March 12, Sheriff Steve Hall told the board that the year-over-year rise in citizen complaints is largely attributable to the department's new online complaint portal.
"That jump, we believe, is because of the accessibility that we've made complaining on our personnel. We were 1 of the first people in the world to have a public portal established," Hall said, attributing the increase to easier public access rather than a change in officer behavior.
Board members pressed for detail on whether the rise included more sustained complaints. Hall responded that while complaint volume has increased, "the sustained, I don't think we've seen, a substantial increase in sustained complaints." He credited department personnel with handling the higher workload and said the office expected the increase when it prioritized transparency.
Hall also described recruitment and retention work in the sheriff's office. "We have seen an incredible increase in correctional applications, up 60% and over 20 percent first worn," he said, adding that the agency has not lowered hiring standards to fill vacancies. "I could have my vacancies filled in 2 weeks, but we would pay the price. And I refuse to do that," he said.
Board members and the sheriff discussed the trade-offs of increased accessibility: while more complaints improve transparency, they create additional investigative demands for office staff. The session that followed the question-and-answer exchange moved on to a different agenda item.
The exchange occurred during the agenda's new-business Q&A with the sheriff; board members voted earlier in the meeting to approve the agenda and December minutes unanimously.
