On Tuesday, Governor Larry Hogan announced that he will be implementing several new initiatives to target violent crime in Baltimore City, citing the increasing violence as “completely unacceptable.” Hogan plans to open a Violent Crime Joint Operations Center in the city that will have 200 “strike force” officers from 16 federal and local agencies to fight crime and gangs.

“Citizens across the state are outraged by the daily headlines of this rampant gang violence,” Hogan said at the press conference. “They don’t feel safe in their own neighborhoods . . . They’re crying out for somebody to do something to stop these killings.”

For the last four years, the city has exceeded more than 300 homicides. Hogan said that “enough is enough” and that he will use every resource available to curb the amount of violence in Baltimore, including providing additional funding to the Baltimore Police Department for signing bonuses to attract more recruits, as well as $50 million to fund every request received from victim service providers across the state.

“All of these efforts won’t be enough if we can’t keep these repeat offenders off the streets,” he said. “According to the BPD, 60 percent of those convicted of gun crimes in Baltimore City do not serve any real time and are released back onto the streets to commit violent felonies again and again. This is completely unacceptable.”

The governor will fund the expansion of Project Exile, a federal program that targets repeat offenders and have them charged under federal laws and courts that may lead to longer sentences. Hogan also said he would introduce legislation at Maryland’s General Assembly session, which begins today, that would increase the mandatory minimum sentence for repeat gun offenders.

“The federal mandatory sentences are 10 years. If we can process them on federal gun crimes and federal courts, we can put them in jail rather than a slap on the wrist with Baltimore City judges and without mandatory sentences with prosecutions here in the city,” Hogan said. “They are not enough prosecutors to handle all these cases, and we ask them, ‘How could they do more of them,’ and they said they need more manpower, so we’re paying for them.”

Hogan believes that there has been too much focus on the misconduct of the BPD and not enough on the violent criminals plaguing the city, pointing the finger at the consent decree that was implemented in 2017.

He also said that permanent leadership is vital to make this all work expressing his frustration at the vacancy of the position for the past seven months. This comes just one day after Mayor Catherine Pugh announced New Orleans Superintendent Michael Harrison as commissioner-designate.

“There’s been a whole lot of focus on the consent decree, that’s all people have been talking about,” Hogan said. “I think it’s out of balance. We’re going to focus on getting the criminals off the street.”

Just one day after Baltimore Police Commissioner nominee Joel Fitzgerald stepped away from the position, Mayor Catherine Pugh has already found his replacement. New Orleans Police Superintendent Michael Harrison will be the new commissioner-designate for the BPD. After serving 27 years on the New Orleans Police force, and leading them since 2014, Harrison says that he’s honored to be selected and is looking forward to engaging with the residents.

“My first priority will be to drive meaningful cultural change within the department such that not only is there a renewed sense of purpose and mission among those sworn to protect and serve, but that citizens’ trust is restored to a new level that enables true collaboration and confidence,” Harrison said in a statement. “Only then can we make sustained progress in reducing violence in close partnership with those who have the most at stake.”

Mayor Pugh says that her decision was made based on his experiences and assistance with crime reduction in New Orleans—a city that is similar to Baltimore demographically and in terms of homicide rates. Since joining the New Orleans Police Department in 1991 as a patrol officer, Harrison has worked as a major case narcotics detective, lieutenant of the Public Integrity Bureau, and a commander for special investigations. In these roles, he has implemented a consent decree similar to the one in Baltimore enforcing new-aged constitutional policing while increasing recruitment numbers.

“He will bring not only significant and relevant experience to addressing the challenges of Baltimore, but the insight and sensitivity needed to reestablish essential trust and confidence of citizens in their police officers,” said Mayor Pugh in a statement.

The transition from New Orleans to Baltimore should be fairly seamless for Harrison on January 8 when he begins his new role and here’s why:

Like New Orleans, Baltimore is operating under a federal consent decree.
While New Orleans is further along—the Louisiana city’s consent decree was implemented in 2013—both cities struggle similarly with exorbitant homicide rates. During the federal investigation by the U.S. Justice Department, like Baltimore, New Orleans also experienced longstanding patterns of racial profiling and excessive force within the city’s police force.

Both cities are top five in the country for highest murder rates.
Baltimore sits at number two while New Orleans holds the fourth spot. Under Harrison’s leadership, the city saw a 7-percent reduction in the number of murders and a 28-percent reduction in the number in non-fatal shootings in 2018. The reduction in violent crime was due in large part to Harrison’s deployment of policing strategies like the Tactical Intelligence Gathering and Enforcement Response (TIGER) that focuses on those who are repeat offenders rather than targeting specific areas.

BPD recruitment numbers have decreased just like in New Orleans.
Baltimore saw a significant increase in officer departures in 2015 following the unrest and death of Freddie Gray in police custody. That year, the BPD experienced a net loss of 158 officers and, according to a report earlier this year, the department has 500 fewer sworn officers in 2018 than it did in 2012. Similarly, prior to 2014 in New Orleans, the city experienced this downward trend in retaining police officers.

Harrison combated this by increasing the number of academy classes, completely overhauling the recruitment process, and increasing the number of resources dedicated to recruit more officers, which lead to a 60 percent increase in 2017 from the prior year.

Baltimore residents just want to feel safe.
Harrison’s experience with a federal consent decree is ideal for Baltimore’s next police commissioner. In a survey conducted by the New Orleans Crime Coalition, 83 percent of residents said they feel safe in their own neighborhoods—a vast improvement due to the implementation of the strategies in the consent decree. Here in Baltimore, we all want that.

Editor’s note:

[Judge James K. Bredar denied the U.S. Department of Justice motion for a 90-day extension to review the consent decree to reform the Baltimore Police Department.

“The government’s motion is untimely,” Bredar says in a court document filed this afternoon. “To postpone the public hearing at the eleventh hour would be to unduly burden and inconvenience the court, the other parties, and most importantly, the public.”

Mayor Catherine Pugh is pleased with the final ruling from Bredar. “The crucial next step of receiving public input occurs tomorrow,” Pugh said in a statement about the hearing on April 6 at the U.S. District Court in Baltimore. “I hope citizens will take advantage of this opportunity to have their voices heard. The hearing will begin at 9:30 a.m. and last until 5 p.m.; anyone is welcome to speak.

“The City of Baltimore is ready to move forward to rebuild the important relationship which exists between the community and our police department,” Pugh said. “It will take all of us—city government, the police department, and the families and residents of our great city—to see this reform process through.”]

In a motion filed last night, the U.S. Department of Justice asked a federal judge for a 90-day extension in order to review the details of the proposed consent decree for Baltimore police reform.

“We strongly oppose any delay in moving forward,” Mayor Catherine Pugh said in a statement. “I, along with Police Commissioner Kevin Davis and the citizens of Baltimore, recognize that reforming our police department is long overdue.”

The consent decree—which was signed in the final days of Barack Obama’s presidency—was an agreement reached between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the city after a federal agency investigated the patterns of discriminatory and unlawful practices of the Baltimore Police Department (BPD). The investigation uncovered that police officers routinely violated the rights of Baltimore’s residents in predominantly poor and black areas.

“I’m disappointed that the Department of Justice thought it necessary to seek a 90-day extension,” said Commissioner Kevin Davis in a press conference this morning. “I don’t think it’s necessary; we know that a consent decree will make the BPD better both with the crime fight and community relationships.”

The motion filed Monday cites President Trump’s executive order, which instructs the government “to prioritize crime reduction.” It also states that the DOJ is “committed to working to ensure that the BPD can carry out its mission of fostering trust with community members, safeguarding life and property, and promoting public safety through enforcing the law in a fair and impartial manner.”

At a hearing back in February, the DOJ lawyers appeared to be in full support of the consent decree and committed to moving it forward, but the requested extension could be a roadblock to that progress.

Along with the motion, the DOJ filed a memorandum from Attorney General Jeff Sessions to top agency officials in which he calls for a thorough review of all agency activities to ensure they are adhering to specific policies set by the administration. One policy in particular states that local accountability is responsible for effective policing and that it is not the federal government’s responsibility to manage local enforcement agencies.

“Much has been done to begin the process of building faith between the police department and the community it seeks to serve,” says Pugh. “Any interruption in moving forward may have the effect of eroding the trust that we are working hard to establish.”

Judge James K. Bredar has not yet ruled on the extension, however Commissioner Davis is adamant that the reforms will take place irrespective of the ruling.

“I want to say to the community in particular, that the police department is absolutely dedicated to the consent decree process,” Davis says. “From my mouth to your ears, I want this consent decree and I know mayor Pugh does as well. It will make our city better.”