* 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
Investigative Hearing - Baltimore City Gun Violence
FOR the purpose of requesting the Baltimore Police Commissioner to report to the City Council on the incidence of gun violence in Baltimore City; to discuss the factors that may be contributing to gun related crime and the nature of the perpetrators; and to share the crime reduction strategies that are planned to stem the tide of gun violence that threatens to overtake Baltimore's residential neighborhoods.
Body
Recitals
* January 1, 2007: PATTERNS PERSIST IN CITY HOMICIDES AND SHOOTINGS - VICTIMS, SUSPECTS USUALLY BLACK MEN WITH LONG CRIMINAL HISTORIES - RATE IS AMONG HIGHEST IN U.S.
* January 9, 2007: CITY HOMICIDE COUNT RISES TO 9 - POLICE IDENTIFY THREE VICTIMS OF RECENT VIOLENCE - MAN ARRESTED IN FATAL BEATING
* March 24, 2007: CITY HOMICIDES, SHOOTINGS RISE - SO FAR, 64 PEOPLE KILLED IN '07 COMPARED WITH 58 IN '06 - FIGURES SHOW DROP IN ROBBERIES, ASSAULTS
* April 2, 2007: DOES BALTIMORE CITY NEED MORE POLICE?
* April 4, 2007: MURDER INK: MURDERS THIS WEEK: 6 - MURDERS THIS YEAR: 71.
These are the leads to newspaper stories that have greeted crime weary and worried Baltimore City residents each morning since the dawning of the new year. The question reverberates - what can be done?
In the January 2005, document, The Mission of Every Member of the Baltimore Police Department is the Same, Regardless of Assignment: Reduce violent crime through targeted proactive enforcement, outlining the Baltimore Police Department's crime fighting strategy, it is stated, in part, that through a consistency of purpose, the Police Department has the ability to reduce homicides and shootings and that these acts of violence can and will be prevented by a departmental re-focus of its deployment, an emphasis on a return to basics, and intense work toward achieving the goals of:
* Reduce violence with a focus on homicides and shootings.
* Remove guns from the street
* Reduce juvenile crime
* Return open spaces to law-abiding citizens
* Operate with integrity and professionalism.
The Overview of the Plan of Action states that the primary focus of the Baltimore Police Department is to eradicate violence and the conditions that contribute to violence in the Eastern, Western, and Northwestern Districts, and, further, that "Once the flag is planted and those districts are stabilized, the Department will hold that territory. The Department will not pay two, three, and four times for the same real estate."
In the semantics of the Police Department document, the time has come to revisit the "real estate" - peace and tranquility have become an absentee landlord, and the tenants of death and destruction are threatening to take up permanent residence.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That the Baltimore Police Commissioner to report to the City Council on the incidence of gun violence in Baltimore City; to discuss the factors that may be contributing to gun related crime and the nature of the perpetrators; and to share the crime reduction strategies that are planned to stem the tide of gun violence that threatens to overtake Baltimore's residential neighborhoods.
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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