Flaw in safety system leaves Maryland school uninformed after employee arrest

MARYLAND (WBFF) — A new school year in Baltimore County is just days away, and county leaders are emphasizing student safety. But Project Baltimore has uncovered a flaw in the system designed to alert the school district when an employee is arrested. A flaw the new superintendent is now looking into.

At a Baltimore County Public Schools press event on Monday, one week before the start of the new school year, one main theme kept emerging – school safety.

“That includes physical safety and social-emotional safety,” stated Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Bill Heiser.

Baltimore County Executive Katherine Klausmeier echoed similar concerns, “Our hope is that our students, families and employees have a safe, successful and wonderful school year.”

“Please be safe. Look out for one another,” added Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough.

Project Baltimore’s Chris Papst asked BCPS Superintendent Dr. Bill Heiser about school safety at press event (WBFF)

With that in mind, Project Baltimore’s Chris Papst had questions for BCPS Superintendent Dr. Bill Heiser about school safety, “You talked about the importance of safety in schools. And I have a question about the RAP Back system.”

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RAP Back stands for Record of Arrest and Prosecution Back system. It’s a federal database operated by the FBI’s Next Generation Identification System, which is designed to alert school systems, and other organizations, when employees are arrested and charged with crimes.

On August 6, Heiser told FOX45 News that BCPS was not enrolled in RAP Back.

“We are not. We’re not enrolled in that,” confirmed Heiser.

Turns out, that was not true, which is why Project Baltimore attended the press conference to get clarification.

“You had told me Baltimore County Public Schools is not enrolled in Rap Back. The Maryland State Department of Education told me that every school system in the state is enrolled in RAP Back. Can you provide some clarification? Where is the disconnect?” Asked Papst.

“So, I answered it kind of incorrectly,” stated Heiser.

RAP Back, or Record of Arrest and Prosecution Back system, is a federal database operated by the FBI’s Next Generation Identification System, which is designed to alert school systems, and other organizations, when employees are arrested and charged with crimes (WBFF)

Heiser explained BCPS was enrolled in RAP Back by MSDE in late June before he became superintendent on July 1 and he was unaware.

“I didn’t have knowledge of that,” remarked Heiser.

Here’s why that matters and how it’s connected to school safety. On July 15, New Castle County Police raided the Crystal Spa in Wilmington, Delaware as part of a human trafficking investigation. BCPS employee Jesse Wasmer was located inside the spa and was arrested and charged with Attempting to Commit Patronizing a Prostitute.

Sixteen days after the arrest, Project Baltimore sent an email to the district regarding Wasmer’s arrest. The following day, 17 days after the arrest, BCPS alerted parents Wasmer had been placed on administrative leave and barred from schools.

ALSO READ | When and how did Baltimore County Schools learned of employee’s arrest? District won’t say

The timing certainly made it appear as though Project Baltimore notified the school system of Wasmer’s arrest, because the day after telling BCPS, BCPS told students and parents. Baltimore County has about 108,000 students. When employees are arrested, how is the district alerted in order to keep those students safe?

While BCPS is enrolled in RAP Back, employees hired prior to 2017 do not have active fingerprints in the system (WBFF)

Following Project Baltimore’s question at Monday’s presser, Heiser explained while BCPS is enrolled in RAP Back, employees hired prior to 2017 do not have active fingerprints in the system. Wasmer was hired in 2007. Meaning, if someone like Wasmer were arrested out of state, BCPS would not have received a notification of the arrest and that employee would likely stay working in a school with students.

“Can that be corrected?” Papst asked.

“I certainly want to explore how many employees are employed prior to 2017 here in BCPS, which is my focus,” Heiser replied. “Could we get people fingerprinted? What are the challenges with doing that?”

Follow Project Baltimore’s Chris Papst on X and Facebook. Send news tips to cjpapst@sbgtv.com