PAB analysis shows drop in citizen-involved complaints; committee to track trends quarterly

At the Aug. 17 meeting the Police Accountability Board reviewed a trending analysis that shows a drop in citizen-involved complaints since 2022.

Quentin Jones summarized the slide deck: "As you can see on the screen, we're talking about... there has been a progressive downward trend," he said, noting counts falling from about 41 in mid‑2022 to roughly 15 by July 2025. The chair reported 19 complaints received Jan. 1 through Aug. 13, 16 cases reviewed (12 new this year and 4 carried from the prior year), six pending reviews, five resulting in administrative charges and four ACC findings that agreed with the sheriff's conclusions.

Don presented a district-level breakdown: District 2 (Prince Frederick area) recorded the most complaints (49), District 1 had 17, District 3 had 18, and beaches recorded 13. Board members discussed that District 2’s higher complaint count likely reflects higher traffic, concentrated housing and central county services.

Lisa and others described category-grouping for policy violations—driving violations, body-worn camera issues and conduct toward the public—and noted that clearer policy definitions and recent retraining have reduced some types of violations. The ACC had recommended retraining to the sheriff’s office; the sheriff confirmed a memo and retraining were issued.

The board designated a trending committee—Quentin Jones, Lisa, Don and the chair—to keep the analysis live and present quarterly updates.