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Welcome to MJPI!

About MJPI

The Maryland Justice Policy Institute, Inc., was incorporated in February 1994 by its three original Directors, Frank M. Dunbaugh (Annapolis), William O'Reilly (Bethesda) and Roland Daniels (Elkridge). Each of them had been active with a prison reform organization, but formed this new organization to provide a more structured environment for the public education effort needed in the field of crime and corrections.

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MJPI's Mission

MJPI's Articles of Incorporation specifically provide that MJPI's mission is:

  1. To study public policies and practices and proposed alternatives with respect to all aspects of crime and violence, crime prevention, criminal law, corrections, victim restoration, dispute resolution and other related subjects, especially as implemented in Maryland;
  2. To educate and inform the public with respect to these policies, practices and alternatives;
  3. To support research, evaluation and demonstration projects, especially for crime and violence prevention, victim restoration and dispute resolution that could serve as alternatives to the criminal law and correction systems.

MJPI's Activities


Just Line
When MJPI was first organized in 1994, its primary function was to write, edit, publish and distribute the Just Line newsletter. Bill Tieckelmann and Frank Dunbaugh did most of the writing, except that Frank often found pieces by other authors and condensed or summarized them and obtained the author's permission to publish the revised version with the original author's by-line. Bill's wife Donna did most of the layout work. After getting the newsletter and prepared the count by postal area for bulk mailing. About four issues per year were published from 1992 through 1997. [more]

Presence in the field
MJPI has had a presence at a variety of meetings and conferences. Baltimore City health commissioner Dr. Peter Beilenson organized a series of annual conferences, much like those initiated by the Prison Renewal Committee, but better organized and better funded. The focus of these meetings was re-entry of released offenders and their need for community services. With the Maryland Justice Coalition, MJPI Executive Director Frank Dunbaugh served as the chair of a working group and on the steering committee. Frank has been active with the International Conferences on Penal Abolition (ICOPA) since its first conference in Toronto in 1983. [more]

Prison Telephone Rates
MJPI took a lead role in informing the public about the injustice of Maryland's Prison Telephone Tax (rebate or kickback). We initiated a Freedom of Information request to which the Office of Management and Budget responded. This gave us access to the telephone contracts and to many of the telephone company's reports of service and charges. The Department of Public Safety was less forthcoming, but they did provide some data on expenditures from the Inmate Welfare Fund which gets the kickback funds. [more]

Maryland Lifer Issues
MJPI worked closely with the Lifer Coalition and other interested persons and groups on attempting to resolve the problem created when Gov. Glendenning instituted his policy of refusing to allow parole to parole-eligible lifers, except for medical reasons. In addition, the Division of Corrections aggravated the problem by adopting a policy that lifers could not advance past medium security and thus were not eligible for training programs or jobs that would help them with the Parole Commission. MJPI prepared a chart of all parole eligible lifers recommended for parole by the Commission, showing the Governor’s action or inaction. In addition, MJPI made presentations to legislative hearings and to some community groups on this issue.

Restorative Justice
MJPI has supported the concept of Community Conferencing as a peaceful way to resolve disputes. In line with MJPI’s common practice of brokering linkages between people who need to know one another, MJPI invited New Zealand attorneys Helen Bowen and Jim Boyack to Maryland while they were on other business in the U.S. These attorneys were very influential in getting adopted and in implementing New Zealand’s law that requires all juvenile cases to be sent to community conferencing. As a result, very few juvenile cases ever get to court in New Zealand. [more]

Transformative Justice
MJPI is focusing on this new concept based on the writings of the late Dr. Ruth Morris, a Canadian Quaker and founder of the International Conferences on Penal Abolition (ICOPA). The link to this subject gives more information.

The PROUD Program
In the late 1990’s MJPI joined with the Community Education Division of Sheppard Pratt Health Systems to sponsor after school programs in several elementary schools. MJPI Director Arthur Cooke brought MJPI into this wonderful endeavor that helped MJPI live up to its motto by “investing in children.” The first such program was provided in 1998 in Baltimore City at Pimlico Elementary School and Langston Hughes Elementary School. When this program proved to be successful, MJPI expanded its efforts into Anne Arundel County. [more]

The Seafarer’s Children’s Summer Program
While on a sailing trip to the Virgin Islands, Frank Dunbaugh and his wife Belinda Arrington learned of a children’s program designed to familiarize local children with the sea. MJPI then proposed this program to the Seafarer’s Yacht Club, the oldest yacht club for black boat owners in Maryland. Since Maryland has a large industry related to boating, the idea was to familiarize disadvantaged children in the Annapolis and surrounding areas with boating and seamanship skills and to expose them to the occupational opportunities in the boating industry. The Seafarer’s Yacht Club took up the idea and has had this summer program for about five years. MJPI volunteers have participated with the program as shepherds and instructors.


MJPI Directors Frank Dunbaugh, John Morris and Bertina Nick at the Seafarers Yacht Club

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