Violent Crimes Down, Pristoop Deserves Credit

The Capital reports that violent (type 1) crimes are down by 44% when comparing the first 6 months of 2009 with the same months of 2008. Type 1 crimes include murder, rape, assault, robbery, and reading blogs with advertisements on them. Just kidding.

So, why has this happened? Admittedly I'm not a keen enough observer to offer a detailed explanation, but I've got to believe it's because of Chief Pristoop. The Mayor offers little guidance:

It doesn't happen overnight. We've been trying to develop a willingness to
partner with police, especially where the inclination is not to partner with
police.

The results might not happen overnight, but it seems the trend did. At the end of Chief Johnson's tenure, crime went nowhere but up. A search of "crime" or "police chief" on this blog would give you more of a picture, but it goes something as follows. Crime was steadily increasing, but when a series of particularly disturbing crimes happened (in tourist areas), stuff started hitting the fan. The police department was famously understaffed, and while there was criticism for Chief Johnson, many attributed the problem to a lack of leadership by the Mayor. Rather than address problems brought up by HACA President Brown, Mayor Moyer identified what she thought was the problem: "I guess he doesn't know how to read".

BUT:

Moyer is still the Mayor...and crime is going down. And it started going down pretty much as soon as Pristoop took over. In economics, changes are often analyzed ceteris paribus, which means that every other variable stays the same except the one at which you are looking. It's one of the most improbably scenarios ever, but I'll tell you how it applies here. The assumption is that the 2 people most capable of reducing crime are the Mayor and the Chief. The Mayor stayed the same, the chief changed, and the level of crime changed. Conclusion: the chief is doing a good job. Chief Pristoop would agree:

This crime reduction is not an anomaly. We work very hard every day
... and we are going to continue to work very hard at reducing the exposure of
the community to violent and property crimes.

People are hearing less gunfire and seeing fewer people out there doing
street-level nuisance crimes. That is a true measure of a safer city. People
honestly believe and see improvement. I am hearing that every day.

I hope he keeps it up.

Violent Crimes Down

This was a press release from the city. Normally I would accompany this city propaganda with some of my own, but as it is I am on a zero-expense-paid vacation in Spain and I'm lucky to have this time on the internet. Quicky, I did notice a correlation betwen the new police chief, with new policies, and this reduction in crime:

Crimes Statistics Show Significant Drop In Violent Reported Crimes

The Annapolis Police Department is releasing the Crime Statistics
for the period of January 1st, 2008, through June 30th, 2008. As compared to the
same time period of 2007, the number of violent crimes is lower in 2008. Total
reported Violent crimes for the period in 2007 were 231, while there were 190 in
2008, a reduction of 17.75%. Shootings are down 25% from 15 to 12. While
both years saw 6 Homicides, in 2008 we had the happenstance of five within the
first three months of the year, but, only one in the next three months, and none
since May. Robberies are down from 101 in 2007 to 79 in 2008, and Aggravated
Assaults are down from 123 in 2007 to 100 in 2008. The statistics are part of
those compiled during the course of our participation in the Uniform Crime
Reporting System as reported to the FBI.

Even more significant is
that the reductions seem to be at an accelerated pace since April of 2008 -
perhaps not coincidentally when a number of tactical and strategic changes
were implemented. For example, violent crime dropped from 137 to 88 ( -35.77%) when comparing the second quarters of 2008 to 2007. Robberies dropped
from 55 to 35, and Aggravated Assaults from 77 to 50.

This success is attributable to many factors, not the least of which are new
initiatives brought about by leadership and carried out by the fine officers of
the Annapolis Police Department. It is important to note that none of the
initiatives would work without the full support of the officers on the street,
which has been outstanding.

The new strategies include:

*Senior Commanders assigned to street duty during periods of peak criminal activity. *Emphasis of intelligence gathering and targeting of the most
frequent and likely offenders.
*Creation of a street enforcement unit,
combining K-9, Drug Enforcement, Intelligence, Traffic and
foot patrol teams with senior, direct supervision.
*More efficient use of the overlap hours of 10 PM to 2 AM, when two shifts are on -
duty.
*Supplementing of Downtown Foot Patrol with officers assigned to
administrative duties
*Increased use of technology such as roll call
briefings backed up by video of wanted persons or known
criminals.
*Increased emphasis on the serving of existing warrants.

Through the reduction in violent crime, it is clear that these and
many other things are making it much more difficult for the criminals. Another
key factor is the increased cooperation from the public, as demonstrated by more
and more calls and tips from the citizens concerning criminal activity. The
police and public each energize the other, and results by one serve to encourage
more effort by the other.

We hope to continue this very positive trend for the remainder of this year and beyond.

Drug Bust

I particularly enjoy the pretty wedding photo at the forefront of the seized items:

On July 11tth, 2008 at 12:43 PM, the management of the Forest Hills
Apartments reported that an unknown foul odor had been noticed for the past few
days coming from somewhere in 12 Melrob Court. After checking all common areas,
management gave prior notice to all residents that an individual apartment check
would be made in attempts to find the source of the odor on July 11th. When they
came to 12 Melrob Court, Apartment # 1, there was no response at the door.

It was evident that someone was inside. Due to concerns for the safety of
all, police were called. Officers could not get a response at the door either.
The officers made entry to the apartment and found two people were locked behind
an inner door. After a brief hesitation, the subjects heeded orders to come out.
During the course of checking the apartment for obvious signs of safety issues,
a large amount of marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia was seen in the open.
The premises were secured and a search warrant was obtained. Upon serving the
search warrant, a large amount of marijuana and paraphernalia were seized. Some
of it was freshly cultivated. It was also found that a growing room for the
purposes of raising, cultivating, and processing marijuana had been set up in a
spare bedroom of the apartment. The drugs and other seized articles are still in
the process of being quantified and catalogued at this time. The two subjects
were arrested. Resident Jonathan David Stievert, 25 is being charged with
Possession/Manufacturing of Illegal Drugs and other related offenses. Jennifer
Lynn Wilkins,21, of Waterview Drive in Edgewater is being charged with Drug
Possession. She is a former resident of the apartment, who had moved out a few
months ago and was apparently there visiting today.

More Homicides Narrowly Avoided; Stray Bullets Fly Into Houses

Perhaps my headline skews the facts, but check out these two events from today's police report. Both are public housing areas.

THREATS: On January 23rd at 12:30 AM, a 20 year old resident of 711
Newtowne Drive was threatened as she was standing outside of her residence. The
victim said that an adult female with whom she is familiar came up to her and
started an argument over an unspecified matter. The woman*s 15 year old son then
came up and joined in the argument. He then told her that * he had something for
her* and ran towards his residence. A few minutes later, she heard two gun shots
and ran out of fear for her safety. She did not see who fired the shots, but
felt that it may have been the juvenile who had just threatened her, as she said
he has bragged before in the neighborhood about possessing a gun. The victim did
not report this until 3:30 the next day, and the other parties involved could
not be immediately located. The investigation is continuing.

SHOTS FIRED: On January 23rd at 11:08 PM, an officer, on patrol, heard
numerous gun shots coming from the 1300 block of Tyler Avenue. Upon
searching for the source, he found that the front of a townhouse had been struck
by four or possibly five bullets. The occupants were checked on, and no one was
injured. One bullet came all the way through a front room, coming to rest inside
a closet. Officers searched the area for suspects with negative results, and the
investigation is continuing.

Police Department "Did You Know"

The Mayor recently sent out a fact sheet regarding the police department, a strategy and position that will be futile in mitigating the backlash stemming from her inexplicable denial that the crime trends are going in the wrong direction.

I was not on the Mayor's email list, but fortunately the document found its way to my highly active email inbox, allowing for this analysis. Actually, it's not really an analysis; the problem is evident--a blind man could see it in a minute. Let's take a word-for-word look at the mayor's response to demands for action.

The Annapolis Police Department received National Accreditation in March, 2004 and was reaccredited in March, 2007. This puts the APD in elite company along with only 29 out of 183 police agencies in Maryland and 593 of approximately 17,000 police agencies in the United States.

Here we go! This fact is irrelevant; the elite accreditation status of the APD has nothing to do with our crime problem. "Fully staffed departments with effective tactics don't solve crime--accreditations solve crimes", the saying does not go.

Annapolis Police are among the highest paid and have the best health and retirement benefits in the state. The current pay for newly hired officers -- $44,630.00 annually -- is among the highest in Maryland. It is substantially higher than the starting salaries paid by Baltimore City, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Howard County, and Montgomery County.

The problem here is that the $5000 hiring bonus is included in that $44,000+ figure. So, the first year they make that much, but in the second year when there is no bonus, they have to take a pay cut to under $40,000. Not good. And not better than other jurisdictions.

There have been 51 officers hired since 2002 and 7 new officers were hired in 2007.

But how many retired? And how many positions remain vacant despite funding? And most importantly, even if we hired ten thousand officers, is crime getting better? (Answers: a handful, 18, no.)

The national clearance rate average for homicides is between 50-75%. Annapolis' clearance rate for homicides consistently surpasses the 80% mark. Over the past 5 years, the department has cleared 17 of 19 homicides. In addition, the clearance rate for all crimes reviewed nationally is about 21-22%. The Annapolis Police Department averages 30% for all cases reviewed.

First of all, how can the clearance rate average be between 50 and 75%? If you have national statistics, you should have a single number. Anyway, a city where you know all of 100 murderers is inferior to a city where you don't know the only murderer. See what I'm saying? But, good work to the APD for the higher than average clearance rate.

Chief Johnson, Captain Imhof, Captain Marshall, Lieutenant Powell, Lieutenant Della and Sergeant Hall have all received training at the FBI National Academy.

I have received training from the Oxford Institute for Influential Blogging, yet this is merely the 63rd most influential political blog in Ward 5.

Captain Simpson, Lieutenant Powell and Lieutenant Cynthia Howard have all been trained at the Southern Police Institute.

George W. Bush went to Yale.

1/3 of City of Annapolis Police Officers have either some college or full degrees.

Enough already. Nobody is doubting the ability of the rank officers. The issue is: without their full compliment of resources--specifically more officers--they cannot be fully effective..

The training process to become a member of the Annapolis Police Department includes 6 month training at a police academy and 8-12 weeks of field training. The entire process takes between 8-10 months. Annapolis uses police academies in Howard County, Baltimore City and occasionally Frederick. Training dates vary and occur between late September and early January.

This "did you know" is becoming more and more unrelated to the issue at hand. Who is complaining about the training process? Actually, I want to complain--notice how (A) we don't have a police department of our own and (B) how we don't send our recruits to Anne Arundel County because they steal our officers away from us by offering higher pay!

The national ratio of officers per 1000 citizens is 1 per thousand. The Annapolis Police Department currently maintains a ratio of 3.6 officers per thousand citizens.

I recently saw this described as a "tortured" argument, which is highly brilliant commentary worthy of mention. Ratios such as this are not useful because:

1. The International Chiefs Of Police say so.

2. Annapolis has an abnormally high density of public housing, which accounts for most murders and a disproportionately high number of drug crimes.

3. We are a capital city and have a unique non-resident population.

I have chosen to present the mayor's document in it's entirety, so now you will have to read through some boring statistics before arriving at the next bit of brilliant commentary. Also, take a look at this article called Officer-per-thousand Formulas and Other Policing Myths. You'll particulary enjoy the part where it says "We have worked.........for managers with 3.6 officers per thousand who delcare they cannot do proactive policing without more cops". What a fabulous concidence--we have 3.6 officers per thousand!

Statistics - The numbers game

The charts included in the addendum of this report include data supplied by the Annapolis Police Department to the FBI that accurately reveals significant progress in the City’s commitment to improve public safety and security.

In 2005, 2097 violent crimes were reported, the lowest number reported in the City since 1990. And while it is true that 2006 showed a nationwide spike in crime levels, the 2,415 crimes reported in Annapolis were still far less than the levels of nearly 3000 crimes per year reported in the mid 90’s. As of July, the year 2007 is showing a downward trend-some 6% lower than last year, and 2% lower than 2005.

The charts also show that the number of officers currently on the streets protecting the citizens of Annapolis is consistent with, and, in some cases, higher, than historical numbers.

Some attempt to show crime rates by comparing the numbers of incidents with the census population of a city. These types of comparisons are convenient but inaccurate, especially when discussing a City like Annapolis. They do not take into account the common sense factor that the City of Annapolis entertains more than 4 million visitors each year and may, on any given day, have over 100,000 people inside her borders. The Naval Academy, St. John’s College and other state and federal residents and employees are not included in the census for Annapolis.

And, we're back. DID YOU JUST READ THAT???!!! The mayor speaks of the "common sense factor" that this city is a Capital city and has a high non-resident population. Isn't this the same common sense factor that would invalidate officer-to-population ratios?

Other destination communities like Ocean City, Maryland, with a census population of approximately 8000 and a non-resident population of over 200,000 on many days face the same challenge.

Statistics, when manipulated, can be used to “prove” that based on the number of crimes per 100,000 residents, Ocean City is a much more dangerous place than Washington, DC or Baltimore.

So let's forget ratios. The city for the second year in a row has set a record number of murders, with 8 and 9 respectively for the past 2 years. The early pace for 2008 is 36! Any worries? Plus, Ocean City is a terrible comparison that is not made anywhere else. Are you really trying to deny there is a problem?

Using the numbers, Ocean City, Maryland, a “city” of approximately 8000 people, would show a crime rate about 300% higher than the national average. Double or triple the rates of cities like Newark, Detroit, Baltimore and Atlanta. Using the census population to number of crimes comparison would lead one to conclude that they are four times more likely to be robbed, six times more likely to be burglarized, seven times more likely to be raped, and ten times more likely to be assaulted in Ocean City than in Washington, DC.

Common sense says that is simply not possible in a city of 8000 people.

But, when Ocean City’s public safety numbers are compared to those of a city of 200,000 – the number of people that may actually be there on any given day - they fall far below national averages. Richmond, Virginia has just under 200,000 residents. They had 84 murders in 2005. Ocean City had one.

So, are you saying that the tourists here are the problem? ARE THE TOURISTS THE PROBLEM? NO. THIS IS WHY OCEAN CITY IS A TERRIBLE COMPARISON.

Someone seeing the numbers alone could easily make the mistake of assuming that the crime rate in Annapolis is higher than that of the national average for a City of its size.

Or, they could call upon their first-grade arithmetic skills and understand that 9 murders is more than 8 murders, and try to fix a problem.

Again, common sense says that is not true.

If you want common sense, I'll give it to you. If you asked anybody who didn't follow the issue what to do about the crime problem, they would say fix the projects. That's common sense. We have a lot of public housing, section 8, subsidized housing--whatever you want to call it. And many to most of the drug and violent crimes happen in or near these areas, or by someone living in or near these areas.

When Annapolis’ numbers are compared to a city of 120,000-the number of people that may actually be here on any given day-they also fall far below the national average. Waco, Texas, a city of about 117,000 people, had 692 auto thefts in 2005. Annapolis had 150.

Statistics such as these do not consider the large numbers of visitors that swell the daily populations and create public safety of cities like Annapolis and Ocean City. Improving Public safety in Annapolis depends on working with the real statistics, and not playing a “number’s game.”

I mean, this is incredible. The mayor is intensely laboring to defend the record. To her, this is a problem of statistics. She is just getting to how she intends to "solve" the problem.

Public Safety Initiatives by the City of Annapolis –August, 2007.

1. Increase visibility of existing police personnel

The pool of personnel for public safety has been depleted nationally by the war in Iraq and other Homeland security programs. Like other jurisdictions around the country, Annapolis is facing new challenges.

Reduce the number of shifts at the Annapolis Police Department from the current five to three. This will increase the number of officers available for each shift and result in a higher level of visibility and protection and the most efficient deployment of available officers.

This is crazy. Rather than hire more actual officers, the mayor plans to adjust the patrols to make it look like we have more officers. Unbelievable. By the way, this is not a new idea. None of this stuff is a new initiative that the mayor has come up with in response to the increasing citizen concerns. This is all recycled ideas from last year.

Purchase 4 additional Segways. Segways increase “feet on the street” by providing greater mobility and allowing officers to cover a wider area.

So does a bicycle. Or more officers. Why do we need Segways? They are like thousands of dollars each.

Examine the feasibility of adding one horseback mounted unit to the City’s police force. Officers on horseback are highly visible and research shows that in crowd and emergency situations a single mounted officer is equal to ten officers on foot. This allows foot officers to be deployed elsewhere.

I once fell off a horse. Oh, and this is a terrible idea. Good for riot control, meaningless for drug enforcement.

2. Improve recruiting efforts

Returning from a National Conference on Employee Recruitment, Director of Human Resources Kimla Milburn offered new insights and outlined some tips for successful recruiting.

"In speaking with my colleagues from around the country, it is evident that we are all facing tremendous challenges in recruiting police officers," she said. "Positive statements about the department go a long way in encouraging people to consider a career with the APD. Negative articles and Letters to the Editor bashing the Department simply do not help. We need to work together to increase the level of interest in working for the Annapolis Police Department."

There is no shortage of applicants.

Enhance recruitment efforts by creating a team of ambassadors to help bring officers to the Annapolis Police Department. The team will include Director of Human Resources Kimla Milburn, Public Information Officer Ray Weaver and the members of the City's Public Safety Committee-Aldermen Ross Arnett, Dave Cordle and Alderwoman Sheila Findlayson."

Create new brochures and marketing messages and materials.

"A team of ambassadors" armed with wagon-loads of "new brochures and marketing messages and materials" is a steaming heap of useless horsecrap. I can tell you from several years of recruitment efforts that cash is king. It's not the only factor, but in the case of police, it is reasonable to assume that being an officer in Annapolis is roughly the same as anywhere else. That being the case, if we pay more, we get more officers. The mayor will have you believe that we pay more already, but since a $5000 signing bonus goes away, we really don't. (On a side note, the sister city budget is thriving).

Also, why should we even worry about this since our crime rate is so much lower than the national average?

3. Fight illegal guns and drugs

Request the City delegation to the General Assembly to submit legislation designating the entire City of Annapolis a Drug-Free Zone. This action will double the fines to anyone convicted of dealing drugs in the City.

I've never understood this one. Are drugs more illegal in some parts of the city than others? Why is there even debate on whether or not the entire city is a drug-free zone? I guess they teach that at the FBI National Academy and the Southern Police Institute.

“We need to send a clear message that dealing drugs in the City of Annapolis will not be tolerated,” said the Mayor. “Hitting dealers in their pocketbook, doubling their jail time and in general making Annapolis a hostile environment to this type of activity will help convince dealers that our City is not a place they want to be.”

Great. Couldn't agree more.

Request the City delegation ask for additional state funds for a comprehensive drug plan for both treatment and prevention in the City of Annapolis.

If we can get more money, fine. It doesn't hurt to ask. However, treatment programs benefit users rather than dealers, and don't get at the bigger crime problem.

Initiate a new illegal drugs and illegal guns task force with State & Federal agencies.

This was already going on--even before the mayor announced it the first time.

“In 2006, the Annapolis Police Department made 275 arrests on drugs and conducted 45 raids,” said Mayor Moyer. “The goal of this unified effort is to double the number of arrests and to make it crystal clear that the Capital City is not a Drug Capital.”

Yes, who knows how bad it would be if the message "that the Capital City is not a Drug Capital" was muddled and murky.

3. Forge partnerships with communities

Call on citizens to identify places in the City that need better lighting.

This, of course, would never happen because leaving lights on is anti-environment, and environmental chicanery is the #1 Moyer priority.

“Leave your porch and outside lights on or set them up on motion detectors-people that are up to no good don’t like bright lights,” said Mayor Moyer. “If you see a dark place, or a street light out anywhere in the City, call us and we’ll work with your Alderman, Public Works and BG and E to get the lighting improved. We want to help you improve your sense of security and safety in your neighborhood.”

Continue training for Neighborhood Watch. Since the beginning of the program in the mid 90’s, 7000 citizens have attended Neighborhood Watch training sessions. In the past year, over 1400 citizens have actively participated in the program.

The whole point of Neighborhood Watch is to identify problems, then report them to the police. The citizens are already doing this!

Continue the collaborative process with at risk neighborhoods.

This........

Continue the “Heroes” mentoring program for at-risk youths

....sounds......

Offer more real-world job skills training programs like the Sherwin Williams painting program that offers at-risk adults the chance to learn a marketable skill.

.......vague and without substance. Also, other training programs include the "Maryland State Archives historic preservation program", the "Parole Town Center city council lobbying program", and the "Worst Idea Ever, Al Gore memorial O-27-07 green collar job program".

5.* Develop a new agreement between the City of Annapolis and the Housing Authority on the use of existing dollars for public safety.

(*I don't know what happened to #4, so don't ask.)

HA!! "Developing a new agreement" actually means "figuring out how to justify not paying HACA the $200,000 we already owe them", because that's what's happening. Rumor is another lawsuit may be in the works.

"Since 2004 Annapolis has provided the Housing Authority with $200,000 to employ police officers to work as off duty security," said Mayor Moyer. "This money was to be matched with HACA funds for a $400,000 public safety program. HACA has not utilized all of the City’s contribution. It has also been unsuccessful in recruiting from other law enforcement agencies. We need to clarify accountability for services and define roles and responsibilities.”

No BS: I didn't read this last paragraph before making the "HA" comment--it was just sheer clairvoyance and understanding of the situation. The Mayor is feuding with Eric Brown and is not paying the city's invoices.

Ok, the rest of this you can read on your own--there's not very much more. By now I hope you get the point.

The Mayor proposes that a new and separate agreement of understanding be negotiated to include shared costs and partnership on:

-The use of surveillance cameras
-A sub station program
-Agreement on the assignment of undercover police in the area and enhanced Neighborhood Watch
-Implementation of community service programs for All HACA residents as required by HUD

New initiatives

-Continue working on a revitalization district for Clay and Washington Street
-Install speed cameras on Duke of Gloucester Street
-Propose amendments to the City Code to strengthen the noise ordinance

Request that the City’s Community and Housing Board review successful housing programs in other jurisdictions, research opportunities for home ownership and social service needs and recommend the changes in our federal housing program required to enhance public safety. Some changes may require federal or state legislation.

Double Homicide

Today is not a good day for public safety:

On January 18th, 2008 at 10:54 AM, a citizen went to visit a friend at
29 A Bens Drive. She received no response. The door was open, and she began to go in to check on her friend when she saw two people lying on the floor with some blood around them. The victims did not appear to be conscious, so the citizen retreated from the apartment and immediately called 911.

Officers and Paramedics arrived and determined
that the two victims, a male and a female, were deceased. Preliminarily, the
victims appeared to perhaps be in their twenty's. The case is being actively
investigated as a double homicide at this time. The cause/manner of death is
unknown as of now, however, all preliminary indications point
to a double homicide.

UPDATE:
The victims have been identified as follows:
Cecelia Brown, 50, of 29 A Bens Drive and Charles Cully, Jr., 29, of the unit
block of Marcs Court, Annapolis. The investigation is still in the active phase at this time.


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The location of the event is in a community called Bay Ridge Gardens (I believe), and while it is not a HACA community, to the best of my knowledge it is a federally subsidized Section 8 community. I would imagine the Mayor will be entertaining some more rhetorical bombs from angry citizens.

$37,000 Worth Of Crack Found In Eastport

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On January 16th at 11:33 PM, officers on foot patrol in the 1100 block of
Madison Street checked on a suspicious man seen loitering near building 1155.
The man fled upon the officers* approach, and could not be located. The officers
checked the area in which he had been seen, and a bag containing approximately
375 grams of crack cocaine with a street value of about $37,000.00 was found. It
was confiscated, and the investigation is continuing.

The location of the crime is 1 block away from Housing Authority Headquarters.

Mayor Indignant About Resident's Crime Concerns

In case you are vacationing in the Bahamas, and your cruise ship only allows you 2 minutes of internet access each day, and you loyally check only this blog for your news, allow me to update you with regard to citizen outrage over crime.

Eastport residents, upset over being put to sleep buy gun-shot lullabies, have formed a task force leading a fight for real solutions to the problem:

(The person sitting down in the photo is none other than CP, boldly representing the blogging contingency, as your's truly was boldly cheering the UMD women's basketball team in their first home victory over Duke in a decade.)

They showed up in force to protest the city's lack of effectiveness. Their mantra includes the charge that the mayor lives in denial about the problem. In my humble opinion, this has been true twice. She originally denied that there was a problem, explaining that we already had 3 times the number of officers than the national average. She seems now, alternatively, to deny that she has not been adequately addressing the problem.

This is my 5th post today, so I'll let someone else write:

At the January 14th Annapolis City Council meeting, I spoke as a
representative of the “Stop the Gunfire in Eastport Now” Task Force. My
remarks specifically acknowledged that the Council alone does not bear sole
responsibility to address these problems. Further, I offered our help to
come up with a plan and solutions. There were nearly 100 witnesses to my
statements, and I distributed written points in advance that underscored our
recognition that all of us need to work together to solve this
problem.

The January 16th edition of the Baltimore Sun reported:

After the meeting, Mayor Ellen O. Moyer criticized the group's strategy,
saying that instead of acting as "problem solvers," they were acting as
"rhetorical bomb throwers." "What I don't get from them is an indication
that they want to partner in any way," she said. "To assert that we're ignoring
the issue is plain folly."

The Mayor’s comments reveal one or more of the following: (1) she did not
listen to my remarks or read the written points, (2) she is so defensive that
she was unable to hear our pledge to partner with all stakeholders including
her, or (3) she is trying to spin our efforts in a way that justifies ignoring
this critical situation.

Consider Our Murder Rate

In 2007, Annapolis famously and regrettably set a record for murders with 9. With a population of about 36,500, this gives us a murder rate of 24.66 per 100,000 citizens. Baltimore and Detroit lead the nation with rates in the high 40's; Washington DC is over 30 for 2007, and if Annapolis were to be included on this list, we would be good for 12th or so.

Sample sizes being what they are, you probably would be unfair to make any sweeping conclusions based on this data, but it's nothing to overlook, and we want to make sure the trend goes in the opposite direction.

This data does, however, provide us with some interesting things to think about. While murders are undoubtedly correlated with public housing, it is not the only factor, and probably not the most important factor. If it was, Annapolis would have the highest murder rate in the country because we have the highest per capita public housing rate in the country** (I think). We are left to reason that policing, geography, level of resources, and crime strategy are all things that can affect the murder rate. In other words, we can affect this. Let's hope we do.

(**Highest public housing per capita claim disputed by someone who would know better than me. I do not have any data to publish. Make conclusions with caution.)

All Hands On Deck For Holiday Patrols

This from a press release today:

Chief Johnson stressed that the Department is maintaining a greater police coverage
downtown during the Holiday Season, especially during the weekends.
The Annapolis Police Department has a longstanding policy requiring that
during the period from Thanksgiving through Christmas all Lieutenants and
above, including the Chief, patrol the business districts citywide, on foot, in an effort to deter crime.

Chief Johnson says that officers are patrolling both in cars and on foot. He also said
that there are undercover officers on the streets nearly 24 hours a day. He encouraged businesses, visitors and residents to take “commonsense” precautions.

“It is no secret that robberies increase during the holiday
season.Using common sense, keeping valuables in a safe place, locking car doors and keeping to well-trafficked areas will go a long way toward helping ensure public
safety.”

The answer to this question may very well be "no", but isn't it a good idea to have enough patrols on the street at all times during the year?

Breaking: Shooting

A non-fatal shooting took place tonight in Robinwood, a HACA community.


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On November 30, 2007 at approximately 8:34pm, the Annapolis Police Communications center received multiple calls for reported shots being fired in the 1300 block of Tyler Ave, off of Forest Dr. The first officers on the scene found a male victim on the ground, in the 1300block of Tyler Ave. The victim was shot twice in the lower extremities.The injuries appeared non-life threatening, but for precautions the male was flown by MSP Medevac to Baltimore Shock Trauma Center. There is no suspect(s) information at this time. The name of the victim is being withheld until suitable time for family notifications. Investigation is continuing.

Annapolis Police Officer Shot

An elite Annapolis city police officer was shot today on Madison St (Wards 6 & 8) while serving what is described as a high-risk drug warrant, and was flown to Shock Trauma with wounds to the chest. The incident happened today in the early afternoon.

The officer is expected to survive, and a suspect was killed when other officers returned fire. Here is the press release:

On November 16th, 2007, at approximately 12:30 PM, officers of the
Annapolis Special Emergency Team — ASET---- (The Department’s equivalent of a
SWAT team) was serving a search warrant for drugs at an apartment within the
complex of 1000 Madison Street. The warrant was considered a “high-risk”
warrant. Forced entry was made, and the entry team was met by gunfire. One
officer was struck by at least one bullet. The officers returned fire, and a
male suspect was shot dead by the return fire of the officers. The officer was
flown to Shock- Trauma in Baltimore. His injuries were described as non life
threatening. Names of all parties are being withheld until suitable time for
family notifications. An investigation is on - going at this time. Further
details will be disseminated in the same manner when available and
appropriate.

Alderman Arnett Meets With Public, Hints Of New Police Chief

As you may know, the honorable Ward 8 Alderman took time out of his duties Thursday night to meet with 40 people or so who cared to come to the Eastport Fire Station to discuss the issues du jour.

Despite the fact that I do not live in a ward that is numbered 1 or 8, I was allowed to express my opinions on the aforementioned issues.

I have to say that I was reasonably pleased with what Mr. Arnett had to say, which is saying nothing in response to the accusations of constituents that he had been unreachable to say anything. He is laid back, pleasant, intelligent, and a retired economist*.

(Being an economist is an automatic +9267 on the 10,000-point awesome scale. However, being a Democrat is an automatic -3190. So to analogize, ceteris paribus, he's a Honda Accord--not an Aston Martin, but not a Prius.)

Alderman Arnett spent much of his time (or at least much of the time that I was there), talking about crime. He expressed frustration that even as a member of the Public Safety Committee, he is limited in his power to affect change in the police department. He informs that said committee is taking a more proactive approach than ever before, soliciting independent audits of techniques and technologies employed by our law enforcement unit.

Alderman Arnett suggested that the results of the audit will serve as a blueprint for the new police chief, but refrained from calling for Chief Johnson's resignation, stating only the most obvious caveat: that a new chief will come "eventually".

He also spent some time talking about the idea of a city manager, which would effectively (depending on the language of any proposed charter amendment) transfer authority from the mayor to the city council. Mr. Arnett pointed out that the mayor currently has 3 roles:

1. Vote on the City Council, over-seer of the legislative agenda.
2. CEO of $77 million city 'corporation'.
3. Ribbon-cutting, baby-kissing, Annapolis ambassador to the world.

This is a lot to do, and is a lot of power concentrated in one place. So much so that the city council can't do their job, even when they agree that a problem needs to be fixed (i.e. police recruiting).

A city manager form of government addresses this problem. A city manager is (ideally) hired by the city council, and serves at their whim. He (or she!) can hire and fire city personnel, and is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the city (the corporation).

The city manager is accountable to the citizens via the aldermen--not the mayor. Citizens put pressure on their aldermen to fix a problem. The city council can then legislate--which they can do now--but they can also put pressure on the city manager by saying "If you don't shape up XXX department, we will egg your house at night", etc.

I think this is a good idea, and so does Mr. Arnett. He claims to be well along in a bill co-written with Alderman Isreal, the recognized guru of governmental procedures, that will introduce some type of city manager provisions into the charter.

The question is: exactly what do they propose to do? From the small bit that I heard, it sounds like the provisions might be focused on changing the job description of the city administrator. The currently city administrator is appointed by the mayor, and basically does whatever the mayor doesn't want to do...for a salary of $120,000. What this has amounted to thus far is merely the supervision of our sister city program, or so I've heard.

The current city administrator position is not a division of power--just a waste of money. All the power is through the mayor, and the city council can't really do anything about it.

I am happily surprised that this idea is preempting the 2010 charter review, and if the proposed city manger has hiring/firing power and is accountable to the council (i.e. not the mayor), it is a step in the right direction.

More Foo-Foo Crime Fighting Measures

Now that the city has equalled last year's total for homicides, the city has announced more measures for preventing crime, including requiring a drug treatment program and a gun offender registry. See article.

The use of such an offender registry in New York and Baltimore was cited as a justification for the program here, and as for spending $500,000 on a drug treatment program, Alderwoman Hoyle offers:

Can we afford (a drug program)? I say we cannot afford not to have
one. We're calling to help prevent deaths in our community.

To be honest, I am choosing to censor myself a bit on this subject because I can't back up what I want to say. But I will say is this: the first priority should be fully staffing the police department.

The mayor's administration has said on multiple occasions that they are focusing on the human element of this (or any other, I assume) crime; hence, the drug treatment program, etc. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe treatment programs are most effective for users, not dealers, and I also believe that dealers are more responsible for the correlation between crime and drugs.

These ideas are nice side dishes, but where's the meat?

Setting The Record Straight

Here is what Public Information Officer Ray Weaver had to say in justification of the mayor's recent portrayal of the city's partnership with a DEA drug task force as "new":

It is my job as the city's public information officer to deliver the information that I receive to the mayor. I misinterpreted the letter from Police Chief Joseph S. Johnson regarding the drug task force and I issued the press release that said this was a new initiative.

There was no attempt by either the mayor or the chief to mislead the public in any way. It was also not my intent to mislead, but I was not clear on the details of the chief's letter and I regret the confusion that mistake has caused.

I have to say, I don't know if I believe this. But, I have no facts to disprove it, so I suppose that's that.

But that's not that for this post--I've got more!

Notice this quote:

There was no attempt by either the mayor or the chief to mislead the public in any way.

Why, Mr. Weaver, would you need to say this? We have faith in our elected officials' integrity. Is there some action by the mayor in the past that would suggest she might mislead the public?

Whoops, yes there is.

It's hard to know what to believe. Confusing reporting by The Capital combined with confusing statements by the people in charge have left us with no answers regarding hiring more officers. I can tell you who's not confused: the victims.

Chief Johnson Continues Emphasis On Community Partnerships

Speaking at a meeting of the Eastport Civic Association, Police Chief Johnson had this to say:

We don't have enough eyes and ears to make you safe.

While this makes a prima facie case to hire more officers, the actual meaning of this quote is certainly more pragmatic. The chief elaborates:

I learned early on, we (police) couldn't make a community safe by ourself (sic) . You will never hear me say no to a community group.

Make no mistake--short of a martial law, there will never be enough police to catch every crime. Communities, and individual families, are invaluable in crime prevention. My problem has been the tendency of the administration to place the entire burden on communities. I have been to city council meetings where several residents testified to crimes happening, and the mayor's response was 'form a neighborhood watch'. So long as there is indeed a partnership, the chief is absolutely correct.

We also learn in this article that 8 new officers were hired from an applicant pool of 95 that passed the entrance exam. I suppose that I should be happy that this information is known, but truth be told, I kind of annoyed that this answer could not be provided by the Public Information Officer or the Police Department Spokesman, both of whom I emailed.

I was not a math major, but let's give it a try:

22 vacancies in the department
+3 officers called to military service
+4 officers on maternity leave
-8 new officers that were hired
=
a staffing problem only equalled by my company.

This doesn't even take into account how many officers will be retiring, or the ratio of non-patrolling supervisors to patrol officers.

I can't help but ask, if 95 people passed the test, and there are at least 22 spots to fill, why did we only hire 8?

No News On Police Officer Hiring

Pervading through all the discussions of crime in the recent months has been one particular theme: hire more police officers. Specifically, hire 23 more officers to fill the vacancies in the police department that are already funded.

The mayor's response to this cry has been mixed, at best.

Her original position was that we did not have a crime problem--that violent crime has been decreasing. But the actual crime data made this position an inconvenient one to defend.

The next incarnation of her policy statement assured us that Annapolis offered competitive salary and benefits; therefore, we are doing everything we can and we just have to live with the shortage. The war in Iraq had caused a nationwide shortage in officers, she said. But then we learned that the salary figures she used were not accurate, and in fact that the city had not offered an entrance exam in more than a year, so no new officers could be hired regardless of salary offered.

The city finally administered the entrance exam, and AP asks, where are we now? Have we hired any new officers? Are we planning to?

An email to Public Information Officer Ray Weaver, asking him the above questions, is un-returned as of this writing. I just sent the same email to Hal Dalton, the police department spokesman.

Many times in politics, a certain cause gains steam, chugs along for a while, then putters out. I shall strive to ensure that this issue does not share a similar fate. Just because we don't hear about a problem doesn't mean that it's solved, and we should demand answers.

Perspective From A Police Officer

In a post yesterday, I asked of any police officers who happened to read this blog to provide some insight as to the recent happenings regarding crime and the police department.

A fine citizen identifying him/herself as "APD Officer" answered the call. This person left his remarks in the form of a comment, but I think it's useful to highlight them in a post.

So says APD officer:

The truth is that the officers are embarrassed for the mayor. Ellen Moyer has done more for the officers than any other recent mayor. Unfortunately, she has taken up lying in recent weeks. First she took the officers clothing allowance away and then sent her attorney to lie and say we never had it. We are still fighting that over a year later.

Then she said that we made 5k more than we did so she could say our wages are competitive. A flat out lie that she continued to use even after we pointed it out to her. Then she talked about the need for Segways, yet she had refused to buy any in the past (the two we had were shipped back to Segway since they were on loan). Then Ellen proclaimed she would change the work schedule. Changes in the work schedule have been underway for almost a year!

Then the mayor decided to join a DEA task force! Yup, it's true; we have been in the task force for at least 10 years. Let's not forget the building we live in that she built! Full of mold, tied up in the courts and unusable. The mayor has yet to do anything to hire new officers. The test that was given was offered to people who applied to APD up to a year ago. Just business as usual. Nothing new. We have 6 people retiring by the end of the year and they might hire 4 to replace them.

You might find it easy to beat up on Chief Johnson but he is trying to run a police department in the midst of chaos! Shame on Ellen Moyer. Perhaps she owes all officers an apology.

The thing that AP finds most interesting is increasing evidence of a disconnect between the mayor and Chief Johnson. I used to think that they were on the same page, and reinforced each other regarding most things. But after hearing the quotes in the newspaper, and reading the above comments, it's becoming harder to tell.

I am aware of scores of evidence regarding former friends of the Mayor that she alienated. For real progress, there has to be cooperation. And before progress, there has to be honesty! If the mayor is lying to us, shame on her indeed.

Bickering: An Update on The New Crime Plan

Whoa Nellie!

While sometimes I feel like bemoaning the fact that much of my news comes from The Capital, the fact of the matter is that this blog is more of an opinion journal than a news journal, and I am perfectly happy to leave the reporting to the professionals--err, at least the local paper of record.

Enter Sunday's edition, where we learn that the Mayor's lack of direction in implementing her new crime fighting plans has frustrated the very people responsible for its implementation.

This portrayal of how the crime plans came to be fits perfectly with AP's imagination of how city business works. I envisioned the mayor returning from Europe to chaos, and quickly throwing together a cosmetic solution lacking seriousness--a la Sargent Bilko--just to quiet the critics.

Plans do not implement themselves. The last time the Mayor tried to implement a big plan like this, it was for the Market House. When the plan fell through (because nobody worried about the details), the Mayor first denied there were any problems, then conspired to present the grim facts through a rose colored spectrum. The key to implementing a plan is following through on what you say you are going to do. Speaking from experience, is it also good to have backup plans in case your ideal plan does not work.

As for the current crime plan, it seems the mayor's plan was again short on details. So reports The Capital:

Annapolis Housing Authority President Eric Brown wrote Ms. Moyer a letter on Wednesday asking for "additional direction" on what she wants in a new agreement of understanding to address crime in the city's public housing communities.

You would think that the Mayor would take the time to get on the same page with the Housing Authority, since a lot of the emphasis of the new plan is on crime, specifically drug crime, in the public housing areas. The police chief, a reasonably important participant in any crime-fighting effort, had this to say:

We need to sit down.....How do we put this in the budget, secure these things, train these people ... It's not something we can run out and do in the next month. What timeline is she expecting?

Public Service Announcement to Chief Johnson, HACA President Brown, and other department heads: it's not good to publicly criticize the mayor!

Ms. Moyer responded to Mr. Brown by explaining:

I guess he doesn't know how to read.

She also stipulated that:

He (Chief Johnson) needs to advise me on the budgetary issues.

If he has not advised you already, consider yourself advised. He just said he doesn't know how to pay for the horse and the Segway. Also consider yourself redundant:

Local and federal officials confirmed this week the city joined the DEA's State and Local High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force at least 10 years ago.

Now, I will agree that a Mayor does not necessarily have to know every procedural working of the police department. But if the department enters into an important drug-fighting partnership with the federal government, and furthermore if the mayor was on the city council at the time of the agreement, I would think the mayor should know about it. I know of some officers that read this blog--am I right here? Why would the mayor not know something like this?

The mayor later amended her position, stating that she meant for a renewal of emphasis on the task force, rather than a new agreement. Even so, a DEA spokesman said that the task force won't change much:

Special Agent Ed Marcinko, a DEA spokesman, reiterated the task force is not changing how it investigates drugs and identifies drug dealers.

"It's business as usual," he said.

This is government nonsense at its best. The mayor observed a problem, but she seemingly prefers to address the political problem for her rather than the crime problem that most people are interested in talking about. By throwing around buzz words, and buzz ideas, such as 'new committee', 'task force', '5 step plan', etc.--and not backing them up with any teeth--we are no better off.

AP has sent an email to Ray Weaver requesting the results of the recently administered qualification/entrance exam for new officers. Everyone (even now the mayor) is in agreement that the place to start is to fill the 23 vacancies in the department, and when I find out where we are on this, I will let you know.

City Employee Crime

A letter writer to The Capital today suggested that the aloofness of the Moyer administration regarding crime(s) that a former city employee recently committed can be correlated with crime in our city.

So opines the writer:

According to the story, "Mayor Ellen O. Moyer declined to comment this morning through her spokesman Ray Weaver. She said she doesn't like it when anyone is robbed in the city, whether it be by a city employee or not."

Now there is a brilliant statement. Do you wonder why the city has a serious crime problem?

My initial reaction to this story was something like.........

"Why would the city notice a criminal from amongst thier midst?? After all, birds of a feather flock together."

And after realizing that such a comment was really for personal amusement more than anything else, I didn't have much to say.

What I want to say is: people are crazy. I own a company, and have witnessed the following employee problems:

-employee jailed for 24 hours for spreading the ashes of his cremated relative without a permit
-employee half-naked on-site with his girlfriend
-employee, while on the clock, wearing a shirt bearing the name of the company, ordering an alcoholic beverage from a bar that he knew was a business partner of our company, with the following instruction: "make it a double, and make it quick...i have to get back to work"
-employee missing work because his roommate left a newborn baby on his doorstep

And I only have 12 employees. The city has, like, way more than 12. There is only so much you can learn about a person in a job interview and/or background check. I think these are the only fair questions to ask here:

Did the city do a proper background check?
Is it policy to hire known violent criminals?
Do the city's hiring practices need to be changed?

Other than that, you can't babysit people. You can make the punishment for crimes bad enough to deter criminal behavior, and you can punish these people for a long time after the first offense so you know they won't do it again, but you can't control everything. It can probably be expected that there will be bad apples in the city government just like anywhere else, and every once in a while we have to hear a story like this.