A legislative task force created to assess data collection and policies within Maryland’s state’s attorneys’ offices discussed recommendations Tuesday that must be crafted into a report to key Senate and House committees by Dec. 31. The purpose of the report is to provide the public information that can show whether prosecutors’ practices are equitable and fair. The proposals reviewed by the Task Force to Study Transparency Standards for State’s Attorneys included creating a statewide uniform procedure to collect data and a plan for providing one-time, start-up costs to either upgrade or implement more modern technology in local prosecutors’ offices.

The number of Baltimore Police Department arrests lacking in “probable cause,” or a legally sound and properly documented reason to arrest someone, has dropped significantly in recent years, a recently released independent audit found. The findings came from the latest assessment by the Police Department’s independent monitoring team, part of its federal consent decree that dates back to 2017. The report, focused on arrests lacking probable cause, found that the rate of improper arrests dropped from 10.4% to 4% in two random samplings of 200 cases in 2019 and 2021.

Baltimore’s Planning Commission is set to hear the first public debate Thursday over legislation to allow a massive overhaul of Harborplace. The panel has scheduled a 2 p.m. hearing to air feedback on three proposed bills before the City Council that would allow the large-scale redo of the Inner Harbor landmark to move forward by MCB Real Estate under a $500 million private investment. MCB, led by co-founder P. David Bramble, acquired the landmark property that sits on public land in July for an undisclosed price.