Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced the deployment of “high visibility compliance units” to ensure that businesses and individuals in Maryland adhere to coronavirus restrictions ahead of the holiday, and he is actively encouraging residents to alert the authorities of any “unlawful behavior.”
“Today we are announcing that in addition to our traditional statewide efforts — ramping up drunk driving patrols and enforcement ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday — we are also launching a wide-scale all-hands-on-deck compliance education and enforcement operation,” Hogan announced on Monday.
“The Maryland State Police is expanding its COVID-19 compliance and coordination center and deploying high visibility compliance units across the state,” the Democrat governor said, adding:
…additional state troopers will be assigned in every single county to work in partnership with county leaders, county Health Departments, liquor boards, licensing and permitting departments as well as municipal and county law enforcement agencies to investigate any reports of violations of state law.
The “visibility compliance units” will appear in “popular downtown areas” and “main streets” across the state. Hogan listed Bel Air, Towson, Salisbury, Silver Spring, and Baltimore specifically.
“State troopers will support local authorities with compliance checks with a focus on educating the public about existing orders, protocols, and priorities to prevent super spreading events and to insist and enforce compliance when necessary,” he continued.
Hogan also announced that the Maryland State Police (MSP) will operate a 24/7 phone line and email address “to support local compliance teams in the field with any questions regarding orders and enforcement” and actively encouraged Marylanders to report any “unlawful” behavior:
Hogan recently tightened restrictions in the state, requiring bars and restaurants to close at 10 p.m. and reducing business capacity limits to 50 percent. Hogan also barred most nursing home and hospital visits.
Hogan is not the only governor encouraging residents to report potential coronavirus restriction violations. Gov. Kate Brown (D-OR) has urged residents to effectively tell on their neighbors if they violate her six-person limit on gatherings at private residences.
“Look, this is no different than what happens if there’s a party down the street and it’s keeping everyone awake. What do neighbors do? They call law enforcement because it’s too noisy,” she said last week, proclaiming that “this is just like that.”
“It’s like a violation of a noise ordinance,” she claimed.