During a quarterly crime data update, members of the Baltimore City Council got a glimpse of the Baltimore Police Department’s summer deployment strategy results and demanded more proactive efforts are done to curb the violence.
The Public Safety and Government Operations Committee hearing, chaired by Councilman Mark Conway, peppered Deputy Commissioner Richard Worley with questions during the nearly two-hour hearing. Worley started by walking through some statistics from the summer deployment strategy; Worley said 560 warrants were served during the summer, including 15 homicide warrants and 18 non-fatal shooting warrants.
The hearing Wednesday came just a few months after several of the same council members, led by Councilman Eric Costello, demanded a short-term deployment strategy from BPD before Baltimore entered the summer months, which historically, also meant a rise in crime.
“Our numbers were up slightly, but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a success,” Worley said when asked whether he thought the deployment strategy was a success.
Conway said he wants to see more data from BPD to help illustrate what’s working and what’s not as communities continue to grapple with gun violence.
“I think we got some of the questions answered that we needed but I would really like to see more data,” Conway said. “If we are seeing success in certain areas, we should be able to see that and understand how we can replicate it in other areas. If we aren’t seeing success, we need to be honest about it.”
Conway said he “couldn’t say” from his hearing whether BPD’s summer deployment strategy was successful.
“We aren’t seeing the returns we want to see,” he said.
FOX45 News asked Conway if the request for more resources and a strategy from BPD should have come from Mayor Scott, instead of the council.
“Of course, they should have come from the mayor,” Conway said while adding council members often have a different view of what’s happening on the ground from what other leaders see.
“[But] it’s hard to say if that conversation has been made already,” Conway added.
Responding to questions sent by FOX45 News, Monica Lewis, a spokesperson for Scott, said the mayor “has been extremely vocal” in wanting to work with other leaders to get a grip on the violence.
“To insinuate that any person or group is more interested in the public safety and well-being of Baltimoreans is erroneous and simply misguided,” Lewis’ statement continued.
The lengthy statement went on to outline the summer deployment strategy, noting BPD has “adjusted its crime and employment strategies weekly and quarterly to optimize the use of all available resources.” Lewis said there are broad plans in place, but “they also incorporate special initiatives that direct our resources more effectively” to target short-term needs.
The statement from Lewis did not say whether Mayor Scott viewed BPD’s summer deployment strategy as a success.
Non-fatal shootings continue to tick upwards, with current data from BPD indicating that 2022 is seeing nearly a 7% increase in shootings leaving people wounded compared to 2021. Nonetheless, the city continues to remain on pace to surpass 300 homicides for the eighth year in a row. While Worley noted the homicide numbers are down slightly compared to this time last year – 254, which is one fewer than 2021 – he said it’s still too high.
“It's still 254 lives lost,” he added.
Members of the committee also asked BPD about the Group Violence Reduction Strategy, GVRS, and the likelihood the program will be scaled city-wide. Like other issues discussed, Worley said staffing is a concern, but noted the implementation of the violence-reduction strategy is handled by the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.
Worley said that compared to last year, there has been a 12% increase in arrests, driven mostly by handguns and deploying more officers downtown. Councilwoman Odette Ramos pressed Worley about what the department is doing about guns, noting there are more and more juveniles getting their hands on firearms.
"When you have kids who cannot solve conflict and are armed, that's incredibly scary," a representative of BPD said during the hearing.
Councilman Zeke Cohen questioned Worley about what communication is underway between the department and the presumptive next state’s attorney for Baltimore City, Ivan Bates. Cohen drilled down on concerns about how the agency will handle possible policy changes with Bates coming in since he has said he will not have blanket non-prosecution policies like current top prosecutor Marilyn Mosby.
BPD made it clear communication is happening, noting conversations have already taken place between Commissioner Michael Harrison and Bates.