This report includes all active court cases involving defendants who have committed serious crimes in the greater Charles Village area. It does not include minor offenses or any cases that have been disposed of through mediation prior to going to court.
Begun in October 2010, “Court Watch” is a program that the Benefits District operates with input and oversight from members of the Safety Advisory Committee (consisting of representatives from the Abell, Harwood, Charles Village and Old Goucher community associations, Northern District Police Department, the State Attorney’s Office, Parole and Probation, Johns Hopkins University, Union Memorial and the Benefits District).
The purpose of “Court Watch” is, as the title implies, to track defendants accused of committing crimes in the greater Charles Village area as they go through the legal system from the time they are arrested to the disposition of their court case and (when applicable) to their incarceration. The program has three basic components:
1. Maintaining a monthly “Court Watch” report and distributing this report to the community so that residents can be informed as to who has been arrested for what crimes and the current status of the defendant’s court case.
2. Reviewing active court cases and flagging specific cases of special interest.
3. Influencing the sentencing decision in specific court cases, when appropriate, by:
a. Submitting a “Community Impact Letter” or “Victim’s Impact letter” to the prosecutor
b. Assigning community volunteers to attend active cases and sentencing hearings.
