Greetings!
The Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) is pleased to provide Baltimore City residents and members of the business community with resources to inform participation in the upcoming Baltimore City elections as part of our election education program.
The public information campaign highlights the responses of leading candidates in the races for Mayor and City Council President to the
policy priorities
that the GBC believes will help advance the City at a challenging time in its history.
This week'
s edition of
In Their Words
highlights the policy priority of improving public safety in Baltimore City. Previously, the series showcased responses related to legislative actions the City Council President candidates would propose to reduce crime and improve public safety in the City. This week's edition focuses on how as City Council President they would allocate City budget dollars to crime reduction and public safety efforts.
The GBC does not endorse or financially support candidates. However, we are committed to informing Baltimore City residents about the upcoming election and we encourage all city voters to vote in the June 2 election. For more information about the upcoming elections, see the Maryland Presidential Primary Fact Sheet
here.
As another part of our election education program, the GBC will be hosting a virtual Baltimore City Mayoral Debate with WBAL NewsRadio 1090 AM/101.5 FM on Wednesday, May 27, from 10-11 a.m. Register for the debate
here.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at
donaldf@gbc.org
.
Be safe, stay healthy and remain positive.
Sincerely,
|
|
Donald C. Fry
President & CEO
|
|
Policy Priority
Prioritize enhanced coordination across criminal justice agencies and support evidence-based crime reduction strategies to improve public safety.
Question:
How would you allocate City budget dollars to crime reduction and public safety efforts? Please be specific regarding funding levels and programs compared to the current budget.
|
|
"Our public safety budget is significantly higher than any other city agency. We must utilize the existing funding level and drive a better return on that investment. I am committed to working with the administration and Police Commissioner to identify opportunities that support sustainable reduction of crime."
|
|
|
"Part of determining the proper allocation of funds dedicated to public safety is making a true evaluation of the current expenditures. Presently the city allocates almost 20% or $500 million of the operating budget to the Baltimore City Police Department. A significant financial commitment to address the public safety concerns that are the chief priority of our city. Despite that financial commitment the city is still more dangerous than it has ever been with a homicide and shooting rate that places Baltimore as one of the most violent cities in the nation. Depending on whose accounting you ascribe to, it is said that the police department is short anywhere from 400-700 officers. Patrols are understaffed and whole districts are without the coverage that is necessary on a daily basis. The result of this deficiency has been an inordinate reliance on overtime to meet the basic patrol needs. For several years the Police Department has had overtime expenditures in the tens of millions of dollars in excess of the budgeted amounts. Over the past two years, as the Vice Chairman of the Budget Committee, we have worked tirelessly to address the excessive use of overtime by the Police Department that has been a drain on the city's budget and resources. As a result of our efforts, the Department is now operating within the budget and has instituted measures to reduce fraudulent use of overtime resources. In addition to instituting this necessary fiscal oversight of the Police Department, we must also allocate appropriate resources to address the systemic issues that are a driver for the crime and violence that is far too pervasive in our city. This means funding workforce development programs that equip and prepare our citizens, regardless of zip code, for the growth industries in Baltimore and the region; supporting programs like the YO! Center that focuses on 'opportunity youth' (young people between the ages of 18-24, unemployed and not in school); and investing in our Rec and Parks Department to ensure that the city's youth have positive activities that promote healthy behaviors and sound decision making."
|
|
|
"The 2020 budget allocates 44% towards all public safety components. However, the stats show that despite increasing money for public safety, violent crime has not decreased. Furthermore, I believe that Baltimore City should meet Kirwan's recommendations. Education is the key to a better workforce, and less crime as more people can be employed. Additionally, I would like to see our public safety dollars spent more efficiently and utilize civilians instead of trained officers in administrative roles.
Before making a firm commitment, I would like to have a serious conversation with the commissioner and others in the law enforcement community. We need to truly understand what reallocations are necessary, what the consequences are of that decision, and what resources we can shift to ensure law enforcement has what they need to stop the bleeding on the streets."
|
|
|
"I was at the GBC meeting where criminal justice expert Thomas Abt's presented his Focused Deterrence homicide reduction strategy. His estimate for implementation was $8 million. I would allocate that tomorrow and get to work. The problem is, we are not facing a budget problem, we're facing a leadership problem, and a legitimacy crisis. This crisis was a long time in the making. Twenty years ago, I was a law student working at a civil rights nonprofit fighting against zero-tolerance policing, at the same time Baltimore was implementing it. That was a missed opportunity, because at the very same time another city whose growth has far outpaced ours as of late was experiencing a miracle – the 'Boston Miracle.' It was a drastic reduction in violent crime based on strategies based on research and best practices, and a core tenet of the strategy is restoring police legitimacy in the eyes of neighborhoods with the most violence, and the most policing. We had the chance twenty years ago to adopt that strategy, but we opted for the opposite approach. Again in 2014, while I was Assistant Deputy Mayor for Operations, we again tried to adopt this strategy, but we did not follow through. Now, five years after that, Mr. Abt has presented the same ideas again – Focused Deterrence – developed by the person who came here in 1999, and again in 2014, but who we rejected, David Kennedy. Chicago has put Focused Deterrence theory to work and since 2016 has reduced homicides by 37%. We have made zero progress. This isn't a budget issue."
|
|
|
"Current police department dollars should be reallocated to public safety/crime reduction initiatives i.e. mandatory extended day school programs and crime interruption efforts that are evidence based and proven such as Safe Streets and the Boston model, ROCAH. Investing current police dollars in these efforts, as well as strengthening police leadership and patrol deployment will give the crime reduction efforts far greater traction than even hundreds more officers. An audit of current police resources and the exact numbers for the prevention public safety initiatives must be done before a specific dollar amount can be determined but as much as 30% of the current dollars, including current overtime dollars, can and should be allocated to these efforts which would give us a stronger return on our dollars."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
