JB VanHollen for Attorney General

Write a Letter to the Editor

State Crime Lab Talking Points

  • Taking Criminals off the streets has been J.B.’s top priority. Since taking office JB has developed a plan that has resulted in setting monthly records for productivity and has increased efficiency by 70% at the State Crime Lab.
  • Attorney General Van Hollen successfully secured 31 crime lab specialists, which has put the State Crime Lab on track to eliminate the DNA backlog by 2010.
  • By reducing the backlog left by his predecessor, Attorney General Van Hollen has given local law enforcement the evidence they need to put dangerous criminals behind bars and off our streets.

Tips for Writing a Letter

  • Be sure to provide all your contact information in the spaces provided.  Some editors may have questions about your letter and need to contact you and many papers will not publish a letter without the name, address, and phone number of the author. 
  • Be sure to choose a topic that matters to you.  Passion is important.  The talking points provide an outline of the issue and serve as a starting point to your own letter.  Your letter will have more merit and is more likely to be published if it is in your own words.
  • Focus on relevant issues in the news, particularly those that were recently published in the paper you are writing.  If possible cite a specific article. The more recent your topic made news, the more likely you are to be published.
  • Finally, keep your letter around 250 words.  Wordy dissertations and letters longer than 250 words are never published.  A letter to the editor should be brief and to the point.
Paid for by Van Hollen for Attorney General, Jack MacDonough, Treasurer
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