* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Young
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
Title
Informational Hearing - Gang Awareness Initiative
FOR the purpose of inviting the Baltimore Police Commissioner, the Chief of the Criminal Intelligence Unit of the Baltimore Police Department, and the Chair of the Youth Council - Workforce Investment Board (BWIB) of the Mayor's Office of Workforce Development to brief the Council on the growing problem of gang activity in Baltimore City and the surrounding counties.
Body
Recitals
In January 2005, recognizing the growing problem of gang-related violence in Baltimore City, the Youth Council of BWIB invited the Police Department to make a presentation about the proliferation of gangs in this area. This information, regarding the magnitude of the problem, including the emergence of female middle-school factions, compelled the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board Youth Council to form the Gang Ad Hoc Committee.
The Gang Ad Hoc Committee sought a comprehensive understanding of the problem of gangs in our communities, the impact on the overall mission of the Youth Council, and the prognosis of the impact of gang activity on the standard of living in affected Baltimore City neighborhoods. By highlighting the problem of gangs and gang-related violence, the Youth Council sought to raise public awareness about this serious impediment to the welfare of youth and to develop strategies to guide the development of gang prevention, intervention, and suppression protocols.
Although gang activity in Baltimore City has historically been attributed to local "crews", made up mostly of drug dealers who typically named their organizations after their neighborhoods or streets, by May of this year, police officials acknowledged that the members of these same organizations were beginning to identify themselves as members of well-known gangs. It was believed that these were incidents of local "crew" members -"North Avenue Boys", "Hot Boy", "Project Boy", "Milton and Biddle" - trying to boost their street credibility by falsely affiliating themselves with nationally know gangs such as the "Bloods" and "Crips" without any official recognition by these criminal enterprises.
The June 1, 2006, an anti-drug summit of some 300 law enforcement officers, political leaders, and educators, hosted by federal prosecutors in Columbia, Maryland, was organized to coordinate efforts by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to prosecute criminal gang members and to share information with strategies with educators, community organizers, religious leaders, parents, and others in a position to help prevent gangs from recruiting new members, encouraging current members to quit, and to put their leaders behind bars.
The consensus of summit presenters was that the State's most serious gang problem is not local "crews" - it is the "Bloods" who crop up on Baltimore street corners, in the schools of Harford County, and in prisons throughout the State. The vice chair of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Gang Investigators Network reported that there are at least 100 gangs in Maryland that range in size from 3 to 100 members. The Chief of the Baltimore Police Department's criminal intelligence unit reportedly stated that national gangs have arrived in large numbers in Baltimore in the past 10 months. Between 1999 and 2005, the City had a single "Bloods" and "Crips" set. Today there are 14 "Bloods" and 5 "Crips" sets.
Experts stress that intelligence gathered by law enforcement officials shows an ever-changing picture of gang activity in Maryland. Gang violence has grown, despite the reluctance of some law enforcement personnel and elected officials to acknowledge the crisis ahead. In order to successfully combat the deadly influence of gangs on our young people and our communities, we must acknowledge the full scope of the problem and ensure that those responsible for our safety are doing the same.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That the Baltimore Police Commissioner, the Chief of the Criminal Intelligence Unit of the Baltimore Police Department, and the Chair of the Youth Council - Workforce Investment Board (BWIB) of the Mayor's Office of Workforce Development are invited to brief the Council on the growing problem of gang activity in Baltimore City and the surrounding counties.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the Chief of the Criminal Intelligence Unit of the Baltimore Police Department, the Chair of the Youth Council - Workforce Investment Board (BWIB) of the Mayor's Office of Workforce Development, and the Mayor's Legislative Liaison to the City Council.
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