BALTIMORE’S CHANGING OF THE GUARD

By: Joel E. Gordon

I don’t know about you but I am tired of watching government entities seemingly going in two opposing directions at the same time with detrimental results to “we the people.”

For instance, why would the Federal Reserve continue to raise interest rates to dampen the supply of money only to have Congress, at the behest of the Biden administration, pass massive spending bills flooding our economy with extra funds spent spiking inflation even further against a goal of inflation reduction?

A similar phenomenon has occurred in the city of Baltimore. When Baltimore Police Commissioner Harrison was hired on the heels of implementation of a Federal Consent Decree, his primary mandate was one of reform and Consent Decree compliance, not one of crime reduction. As recently as April of 2022, a 10-page policy directive of the Baltimore police was implemented, in keeping with many non-prosecutorial policies of now-former State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, discouraging officers from charging individuals with lesser “quality of life” offenses.

While allowing for some officer discretion by beat officers, who have their fingers on the pulse of the communities they serve, the directive requires that “Members shall seek and receive approval from a permanent-rank supervisor prior to arresting an individual for a Lesser Offense (unless) specific, time-sensitive circumstances make it not practicable to obtain permission.”

LESSER OFFENSES:

·         Loitering 

·         Misdemeanor Trespassing 

·         Public Urination/Defecation 

·         Disorderly Conduct (including Disturbing the Peace)

·         Obstructing or Hindering an Officer

·         Open Container 

·         Littering

Additionally, Mosby refused to prosecute prostitution offenses and certain drug offenses.

As soft on crime policy reforms took hold in a focus on reform versus enforcement, crime and homicide numbers continued to spike and a shift in political focus emerged.

As a result, newly elected Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates has rescinded his predecessor’s policy on prohibiting low-level arrests, arrests for prostitution and drug offenses telling police at his swearing-in they always have the right to enforce "any and all laws on the books" & to “use the tools in your toolbox to do the job." Bates said the safety of people who live in the city is paramount, adding that, “We cannot afford to play politics with prosecutions.” His acclamations were met with cheering and applause. While not proposing mass incarcerations, a new era of enforcement and accountability is unfolding.

To complete the changing of the guard, new leadership must be put in place at the top levels of the Baltimore City Police Department with new orders and directives. A new balance between Consent Decree reforms and enforcement of the law and crime reduction must be achieved to best serve the good, law-abiding citizens of Baltimore. The days of many of the unnecessary Consent Decree-driven mandates working against officer and community safety must come to an abrupt end.

To be fair, the political landscape has changed as political constituencies become angrier over violations to their safety. The current police commissioner is being asked to do something that he was not hired to do and seems ill-prepared to achieve. Did anyone really believe that the Federal Consent Decree would be conducive to reduction in crime?

With soft on crime and hard on enforcement Marilyn Mosby out and a more rational Ivan Bates in, the changing of the guard has seemingly begun. As Victor Davis Hanson has said, we must “Change the past to control the present to dictate the future.” How long before Police Commissioner Michael Harrison and his sycophants are replaced to complete a necessary transition? It must be sooner rather than later. Time is of the essence.

Joel E. Gordon, Managing Editor of BLUE Magazine, is a former Field Training Officer with the Baltimore City Police Department and is a past Chief of Police for the city of Kingwood, West Virginia. He has also served as vice-chair of a multi-jurisdictional regional narcotics task force. An award winning journalist, he is author of the book Still Seeking Justice: One Officer's Story and founded the Facebook group Police Authors Seeking Justice. Look him up at stillseekingjustice.com