* 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 Harris
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
Title
Emergency Hearing - Police Department - Deployment of Supplemental Force
FOR the purpose of requesting the Baltimore Police Commissioner to brief the City Council on the plan to deploy "extra-duty" officers to City neighborhoods in response to the rising crime rate; to provide details of the number of officers and the specific areas the officers will be assigned; and to share the rationale for limiting the period of deployment for the supplemental force.
Body
Recitals
In response to an escalating violent crime rate in certain neighborhoods in the eastern, southern, and northwestern parts of the City, the Baltimore Police Commissioner is reassigning some 70 officers from desk duty to patrol duty for a period of approximately 30 days. It is anticipated that the increased police presence in troubled neighborhoods will curtail the violent crime that has continued to take its toll on persons engaged in criminal activity and innocent bystanders alike.
According to press accounts, the number of shootings are up 11%, and robberies are up 8% over last year. And while statistics show total crime is down 3% this year, the number of incidents resulting in fatalities is outpacing last year - as of October 9 of this year, the City recorded 216 homicides compared with the 208 recorded for the same period last year. The Eastern District has a 30% increase in homicides; the Southern District has a 9% increase in shootings and a 17% increase in killings; and the Northwestern District has a 62% spike in shootings, a 12% increase in robberies, and a 24% increase in slayings.
The Baltimore Police Department's official capacity of 3,200 officers is understaffed by at least 100 positions for reasons that include deployment of personnel to the armed forces, transfers to other jurisdictions or departments, and assignments to administrative functions. In March of this year, the Council expressed concerns about the Department's "uniformed strength" staffing goals that had lowered the optimum number of uniformed officers in some districts by as much as 25%, despite unchanged boundaries and little change in population.
According to Department officials, the 70 "extra duty" officers that are being reassigned from administrative, human resource, financial, record keeping, and recruitment duties to street patrol and other active law enforcement activity will be replaced by police officers who are on limited duty or sick leave because of injuries that preclude them from performing physically taxing police work. Logistically, this temporary solution to the need for more patrol officers seems to be one that should be considered as a more permanent win-win solution to the Department's chronic under-staffing problems and the City's chronic crime problems.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That the Baltimore Police Commissioner is requested to brief the City Council on the plan to deploy "extra-duty" officers to City neighborhoods in response to the rising crime rate; to provide details of the number of officers and the specific areas the officers will be assigned; and to share the rationale for limiting the period of deployment.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the Baltimore Police Commissioner, and the Mayor's Legislative Liaison to the City Council.
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