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.

RAPS Police Chief

During election cycles, I sometimes see letters to the editor from candidates thanking the people who voted for them. The titles assigned to those letters are always "RAPS __(candidate's name)__". At least that's what I remember them being. What the heck does RAPS mean? Even google doesn't know. Anyway, I believe that today's article in The Capital is RAPSing the police chief. Let's examine it.

The Peerless Rens Club in Eastport holds some special memories for Chief Joseph S. Johnson who retires in June.

Most of my "special memories" involve some sort of chemical compound and at least 1 trip to the emergency room.

In 1994, he was meeting with then-Mayor Alfred A. Hopkins when he got the mayor's nod to become chief of the Annapolis Police Department. It was also the site of his wedding reception 37 years ago.

I know that I haven't been posting regularly, so let me take this chance to hit on one of my biggest issues: the use of the middle initial when publishing someone's name. DOES ANYBODY NOT KNOW WHO MAYOR ALFRED HOPKINS IS? WERE THERE MORE THAN 1 MAYOR AL HOPKINS'? NO. This blog's official position is that there are only 2 instances where publishing the middle initial is acceptable:

George W. Bush
Michael J. Fox

And last night, Chief Johnson returned to the club where community members and local officials said their goodbyes to the chief.

"We love you, we respect you, and we appreciate your leadership," said Carl O. Snowden, the Maryland attorney general's director of civil rights who served as emcee for the evening.

Well, at least Carl Snowden is earning his paycheck.

Chief Johnson announced in February that he will retire after 14 years with the department and more than 40 years of service in public safety.

About 100 people, including elected officials, attended the event last night. "Since he's been here, (the department has) run like a Swiss watch," said Sen. John Astle, D-Annapolis.

Goodness gracious. As Roger Clemems would say, I believe Senator Astle misremembers. Even if certain things were not the chief's fault, the department has been far from a swiss watch. As we speak, I believe they only have 1 cell. 1 cell! And, if someone happens to be arrested, the arresting officer has to spend hours in the booking procedure. On any given night, 5 people are arrested. And since each patrol shift has only a dozen or so officers, on any given night 40% of the patrols are not patrolling but rather are booking suspects. The ratio of supervisors to patrol officers is like 1:1, the homicide investigation unit is comparatively understaffed, and the proportion of vacant positions is 500% higher than in the county. But other than that, Swiss precision.

Chief Johnson has been known throughout his tenure as a man who spoke his mind, which sometimes drew criticism, but also garnered admiration from some.

True!

County Councilman Josh Cohen, D-Annapolis, said he could always count on the chief to speak at community meetings or events. "I knew I could always count on Chief Johnson to say what he thought," he said.

I suppose that decorum requires a recitation of platitudes in a situation like this, but if I were the chief, I would much prefer praise for my accomplishments rather than my bluntness.

Several city council members who attended the event told Chief Johnson they'd like to take him out to lunch."We need to learn from you," said Alderman Sam Shropshire, D-Ward 7.

I do believe that if the issue of the day were what color I should paint my basement, Alderman Shropshire would manage get his name and his opinion on the matter in the paper. Furthermore, he would choose beige.

Col. James Teare, chief of the county Police Department, said he looked to Chief Johnson as a friendly face when he took over the county post in January 2007.

"You look for stable ground, and friendship. I found all of those things in Joseph Johnson," he said.

Chief Johnson is credited with gaining national accreditation for the Annapolis police force in 2003. Only about 10 percent of the nation's police departments, including the county's, tout that ranking.

The only reason why such an accreditation would be important is if there was a proven correlation between accreditation and crime fighting. Good luck finding one.

Sheriff Ron Bateman said it's the sign of a good leader when he has the support of those beneath him. "His troops have the utmost respect for Chief Johnson," he said.

I wish that it was appropriate to call employees "troops" in every industry.

Chief Johnson said the he prides himself that the department has had no major scandals on his watch and has had a good working relationship with neighboring jurisdictions.

The claim that we have a good working relationship with neighboring jurisdictions is insane. I would define neighboring jurisdictions as the Anne Arundel County police, since Annapolis is located in Anne Arundel County. The city doesn't have it's own police academy. No problem, you say, we can just have our friendly county neighbor train our cadets in their academy. Wrong!! The county expresses its "good working relationship" by hiring away the officers that we send to their academy--so much so that now we have to send our cadets to Montgomery and Howard counties. The more accurate quote would be "We have a good working relationship with all neighboring jurisdictions except the one that neighbors us on all sides."

I don't know about the scandal claim--I suppose there are no major scandals that I can remember.

"I leave you a quality, professional police department," he said. And, he said, there are several captains and lieutenants who would be able to be chief someday.

"I suggest not looking too far outside" Annapolis to find a new chief, he said. "I hope the citizens insist on getting someone committed to the 36,000 residents that reside in this city."

I suspect that this comes from the mayor. She has declared that she finds no need for a nationwide police chief search, which is unacceptable. The Mayor's current Director of Neighborhood and Environmental Programs previously worked for the city of Newport, but apparently the city needs not to even consider an outsider for the charge of running its most important department.

Chief Johnson spent 24 years with the Baltimore Police Department before he came to Annapolis in 1991 as a major, and eventually became the city's first African-American police chief.

Born in Birdsville.....

Birdsville?

....a tiny south county community near Davidsonville, Chief Johnson grew up in Parole and Eastport, so returning to Annapolis was an easy decision. "It wasn't just an issue of providing public safety. I was home among friends," he told the crowd last night.

Chief Johnson underwent heart bypass surgery last June and took a short leave from the department. He cited health concerns as a reason for his retirement.

Doctors advised him not to return to his job. Following discussions with his family, including his wife, Margaret, and his three adult children, Chief Johnson determined it was time to step down.

He earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Baltimore, and also received management training at the FBI Academy before his stint with the Baltimore police.

He left the Baltimore force as commander of the 1,800 officer patrol division, the agency's largest.

So, there you go.

Breaking: Police Chief Johnson To Retire In June

Citing medical and personal reasons, Annapolis Police Chief Joseph Johnson will retire in June of this year. I'm not kidding....read for yourself:

February 28th,
2007 5:15 PM

Annapolis Police Chief Joseph S.
Johnson, Jr., announces that he is retiring as of June, 2008.

Below
is a message from Chief Johnson in which he announces that he is retiring as
Chief of the Annapolis Police Department. In addition, the Chief would like to
thank the citizens, businesses, media, and everyone else who have helped him in
his mission along the way.

Chief Johnson's message:

I plan to retire as the Chief of Police for the City of Annapolis in June of 2008.
I spoke with Mayor Moyer on my 65th birthday, which was considered retirement age back in the day. It was not a decision made lightly, but after consultation with my wife of 37 years, my family, and my doctors, I reached this conclusion. After my
hospital stay in June 2007, for heart bypass surgery, both my primary doctor and
my specialists recommended that I not return to work. However, out of commitment to this community and working through my doctors, I was able to convince them
that such a sudden departure was not healthy for the citizens I serve. Conversely, it would not be healthy for me to continue to serve indefinitely. We reached a compromise that would allow me to stay on without undue medical risk, primarily to assist with finding a suitable replacement and make the transition as smooth as possible.

There were also a few things I wanted to set in motion to give my successor a firm foundation to address our most pressing current needs.

Key to this is the new Capital City Safe Streets Initiative involving a partnership of
residents and city, county, state, and federal officials to address the urgent
needs of public safety, to be rid of the criminal activity which impacts
our community. I've heard the anger and the outrage about the crime in
public housing. All good citizens living in our city deserve to feel safe and
secure within their neighborhood, and I believe this initiative will achieve
this goal. We should use this new initiative to significantly increase police
presence in public housing, as well as installing cameras and other technology
to keep criminals and those who support them out of public housing.

While there have been some disappointments during my tenure, there
have certainly been more achievements. I*m very pleased to have seen the agency
through the consent decree, earn fully accredited status, and reach such a high
level of achievement with our Neighborhood Watch Program. I*m very pleased
with the high quality and high standards we've set for our police officers. I*m gratified that the Headquarters renovations are finally on the right track. In addition, I'm extremely proud that I was a part of the team that produced the five years of
the lowest UCR Crime rate on record in Annapolis.

By planning my retirement for June 2008, I will leave with pride in what we as a
city have accomplished in the fourteen years that I have directed the force. My
retirement will allow me to spend a lot more time with my wife, children and
grandchildren, and after forty - three years in the demanding career of law
enforcement, it's long overdue. Delaying my retirement until June will allow for
a comprehensive search for, and selection of, a new chief. This will allow
my successor to become well acquainted with the Annapolis community and the
unique requirements of its police chief that our city deserves and demands, and
be ready to lead on day one.

Joseph S. Johnson, Jr.

I think most observers would agree that "it's about time", but there are at least some who attest to the chief's ability and dedication. Murders and drug related crimes are trending upward, and the nature of modern-day police recruitment is clearly not grasped by the Moyer/Johnson administration. However, the chief can only work with the resources he is given, and I have heard stories of him standing up to the Mayor, putting to her "Either this is your department or it's mine".

It will be interesting to see the strategy for the next chief--an internal promotion or someone who makes a splash?

Don't Blame The Crime Data Messenger

Tom Corboy, a fairly active Republican (good thing) and Ward 1 resident (uhh, I think there's a house for sale on my street), wrote a letter to the editor chastising the unprofessionalism associated with the police chief calling Dennis Conti's crime report "crap":

It can only be with the approval of his immediate supervisor, Mayor Ellen O. Moyer, that he continues to get away with shooting the messenger instead of dealing with the issues.

Yeah, the Moyer administration is not known for embracing citizen criticism.

But more importantly, why the need to include the mayor's middle initial? It happens all the time, and for what? There are only 2 people that have middle initials important enough to include when saying their name:

-Michael J. Fox
-George W. Bush

Why do they continue to demean those who put forth well-meaning and well-thought-out ideas.

Much like Mrs. Politics when I asked her if she would theoretically prefer a "big ol' engagement ring", I have no answer*.

*(Truth be told, when Mrs. Politics was asked the above question, her response was "certainly not old". Uh-oh.)

Could it be, as the chief suggests, "just politics"--rather than a credible discussion of crime statistics, and the very real impact they represent on the quality of life in Annapolis?

As the writer suggests (believe me: he suggests this--I read the whole letter), the report is not 'political trash'. The claims made are appropriate for a concerned citizen.

Only one modification to Mr. Corboy's letter, with regards to the following statement:

The residents of Annapolis are ready and willing to pay for public safety.

Negative. WE HAVE ALREADY PAID FOR IT! AND WE DON'T HAVE IT! WHY DON'T WE HAVE IT? AND WHERE DID THE MONEY GO?

The Truth On Officer Hiring

The following comment was made on one recent post:

APD officer said...
If you are being told we hired 8 officers, thats news to us here at APD. We have hired none from the test just given. In fact the hiring process is not even complete. only 34 passed the test. after the written test is physical agility test, polygraph, psych test, piss test, oral review board and backround investigation. we will be lucky to get 2 in about six months. Then off to the academy for 26 weeks then 14 weeks of additional "GAP" training.

I got the '8 new officer' statistic from a story in The Capital, linked here. The article attributed the statement to the chief himself:

Chief Johnson said his department has received 490 applications in the past two years. Of these, 165 applicants took the required test, which has been administered about twice a year. Ninety-five applicants passed the exam, and eight were hired.

Perhaps the chief referred to a very recent event that the rank and file do not know about yet, or perhaps we are getting bad information. Maybe the chief is referring to exams that have been given in the past, and not the most recent exam. For a little guy like me, it is almost impossible to find out for sure.

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?

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.

Bickering

Yesterday The Capital reported that the mayor's crime proposals turned to bickering, which is what happens when anyone raises any concerns about any of the mayor's ideas. (Check back later tonight, or possibly tomorrow, for a comprehensive post on this.) Capital Punishment brings up a good point about this:

Is Police Chief Joseph Johnson about to get the pink slip? CP has repeatedly called for Mayor Moyer to help Police Chief Joseph Johnson toward his retirement since CP started writing this blog but now there are signs that it may be about to happen. While yesterday's front-page article in The Capital about confusion over crime fighting (see post below) was being discussed all over the city, CP was listening to two local officials/politicos in the know who were questioning whether comments made by the Chief were going to blow the Mayor's top. The words "fire" and "resign" and "John Patmore" (the ousted former Department of Public Works chief who openly questioned the Mayor) kept coming up.

You will recall that John Patmore, the former director of Public Works, was terminated only days after expressing concern that the city was going to lease its space to 2,000 triathletes for a fee of $1. The mayor claimed the termination was going to happen anyway, but as this blog pointed out, Mr. Patmore was the only director to go and there others who were perhaps more deserving.

Not only has the police chief challenged the mayor, he has done it on the most visible issue in the city, and unless the mayor is satisfied with relegation to lame duck status, the issue that will cause her the most political harm.

Is Chief Johnson next in line? Who knows.

Update: Police Hiring

Today The Capital ran a story that gave a rather current, rather complete summary of the mayor's new initiatives to combat crime here in the city.

The mayor's quotes seem to focus on drug criminals and public housing, and AP finds no problem with using these as starting points.

Perhaps more usefully, we get an update on police recruitment. You will recall that the city failed to offer the entrance qualification exam for a year. Now they have, and here's what happened:

-181 applicants were invited to take the exam
-56 of the invitees showed up to take the exam
-approx 30 will pass the exam, according to Chief Johnson's estimation
-7 will make it through training to become officers (another estimation)

I am excited to see if this comes true!

Also, still no mention from the mayor about filling any specific number of vacancies.

The Capital Reports on Mayor's Public Housing Plan

Today The Capital reported on the mayor's HACA crime fighting plan--the same one that AP commented on recently. If you want to read their version, click here. If you want to read my version, click here.

(When I refer to The Capital article in this post, I am referring both to the front page article by Nichole Young and the 'B' section article by Eric Hartley. I have a lot to write about today, and I don't have time to do separate posts. So lay off.....just kidding.)

I actually think The Capital dropped the ball on this one ( which wouldn't be the first time). They alluded to the $200,00 the city gives HACA to fight crime; but, they failed to mention that the mayor wants to take this away AND make HACA share additional costs such as cameras and sub-stations.

On the other hand, I think The Capital did a good job of portraying how un-cooperative and aloof the mayor seems to be. The mayor apparently was a victim of shock and awe:

The first thing I get hit with when I get back in town after meeting with our sister cities is "We've got a crime problem. We've got a crime problem. We've got a crime problem," the mayor said.

You didn't know about this before? Seriously? BE SERIOUS. Did you know about this before? WERE YOU SHOCKED AND PISSED OFF THAT YOUR IMPORTANT SISTER CITY BUSINESS WAS INTERRUPTED BY THE TRIVIAL, MUNDANE ISSUE OF.........FELONY VIOLENT CRIME??!! WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS?!!!!

Ms. Moyer called that charge unfair and said she's been working with residents on crime issues for 20 years, going back to her 14 years as an alderman from Eastport.

Bullshit. The charge is fair.

And let me sum up HACA's reaction to this whole thing:

Capital Reporter: What do you think about this whole thing?
HACA guy: Uhh, this is what we have been saying for, like, many months now.
Capital Reporter: But what do you think about the mayor's ideas?
HACA guy: It's all the same crap.
Capital Reporter: And what if you had a pen pal in a sister city?
HACA guy: Neat-O!!

And now for my favorite part of the article(s), a quote from police chief Johnson:

We already co-op secondary employment to them, but we need more manpower.

What, I ask you, WHAT does this mean? This is horrible. Grammar. That should. Be a better sentence. With logic.

Ever onward!

Analysis of Actual Crime Data

A reader sent me a detailed study of all crime committed in 2006, broken down by type, location, and perpetrator. Here are the main findings, and my semi-excellent analysis is to follow. (Only semi-excellent today--my brain works better with sunshine, which we haven't seen in a while. The backup plan for occasions like this is to drink a lot of coffee, but my caffeine level is already approaching the maximum safe level as recommended by the Surgeon General.)

2006 Crime Statistics
(Note: According to published statistics, about 6% of city residents live in HACA communities)
(HACA stands for the Housing Authority of the City of Annapolis)

-7.4% of all crimes occurred on HACA properties
-5% of all arrests were of HACA residents
-16% of all crimes occurred on OR NEAR HACA properties
-29.5% of all violent crimes occur on HACA properties
-26% of all drug arrests occur on HACA properties

The point that this blog has made is that ratios of officers per thousand employees are not helpful because Annapolis has more public housing than any other city its size, and crimes occur more frequently in these areas. We now have the data to show that this theory was largely, ultimately correct.

The first thing we need to consider is that this data UNDERESTIMATES the true link between public housing and crime. Why?

Reason #1: Nobody really knows how many people actually live in public housing. HACA has lease records, but an unknown number of people live in these dwellings and are NOT on the leases.

Reason #2: There is subsidized housing in Annapolis that is not subsidized by HACA, but rather by the federal government. So, crimes committed by individuals in these communities are attributed to the 'rest of the city', not the public housing areas, because the study that I have data for only considers HACA properties (and not the federal public housing properties.)

So, what this data shows is even more true when you try and understand the situation as it accurately exists.

We can see that drug crimes and violent crimes occur at a disproportionately high rate in public housing communities. (Drug crimes and violent crimes are undoubtedly correlated with each other, but we would need more detailed statistical analysis to determine by exactly how much). Furthermore, many of these crimes are being committed by people who shouldn't be there.

So, what do we do about this? HACA, like this blog, has advocated more police, and particularly police walking beats (this means on foot) in the public housing communities. This would allow officers to cover more remote areas than vehicle patrols, and would be a better deterrent to drug dealers/users. It would also allow officers to develop personal relationships with the residents, which would make it easier for officers to identify non-residents and people who don't belong there.

Sounds simple enough...so why aren't the police doing this? Answer: because they have general orders that they are to remain "reactionary", and not proactive*. Let me repeat this. Officers have general rules of conduct, coming straight from the top, ordering them to remain in their vehicles even when responding to a call. They are prohibited from preventing crime.

(*I have heard this from 2 reliable sources. Although I have not utilized a Public Information Act request to look at the general orders, I know people who have.)

Please reread that again...the police are prohibited from doing their job. Who can change this culture? The police chief, and the mayor.

Let's assume that eventually the city has a mayor and a police chief who are committed to addressing this problem in the right way. Done. Good. Now the question becomes, what is the strategy for structurally preventing crimes--that is, changing the culture so that people want to commit fewer crimes.

The answer, I would argue, is ownership. If people own their houses, they become stakeholders in their communities. They would be less likely to encourage or tolerate criminal or destructive behavior. Is this happening now? Sort of. All HACA subsidized housing is rental-only. HACA is trying to promote ownership in and around their communities, but there is too weak of an incentive for families to move out of public housing. If a family moves in to public housing, there is no requirement that they leave, even if they eventually earn enough money to buy their own house. HACA gives preference to working families and tries to promote self-sufficiency, but there is only so much they can do.

There is only so much anyone can do with a mayor and chief who don't want to help.

Hire More Police!

Friday's Capital gave an outstandingly useful update on the city police officer shortage--one that shed light on a situation that, quite frankly, confused AP.

The mayor has pointed out that the pay and benefits for starting Annapolis Police Officers is generally higher than other jurisdictions. My brain, reflecting numerous years of study in economics, determined that if this were the case either one of two things was true:

1. There should be no shortage of police officers.

2. The utility (compensation plus non-monetary aspects of the job) was so horrible in Annapolis that officers would take lower paying jobs in other jurisdictions.

AP was baffled, as seemingly being an officer in Annapolis is roughly same as anywhere else, and there is a shortage of 22 officers as a matter of fact.

But I forgot to think about the political factors--I forgot to think about the whole freegin' point of this whole freegin' blog. As The Capital reports:

...it has been nearly a year since the city has administered a written exam for people interested in becoming officers. The exam is generally considered the first step in the hiring process.

Ha! Incredible! You might as well offer a $1,000,000 starting salary--if they don't offer the entrance exam, there will be no new officers!! Holy guacamole, I'm all over this one.

The Moyer administration, through an email distributed by the public information officer, took the opportunity to give their take on the issue. I am now going to present you, the interested citizen and/or crime victim, various quotes from city officials so you can observe their thinking.

The drill:
their quotes: bold.
my excellent commentary: normal font.

City leaders contend they've hired more officers than the previous administration and are working to coordinate funding and room in academies in surrounding jurisdictions.

I didn't realize that how well crime is prevented is determined by the number of officers you hired in the past. The city, oddly enough, does not have a police academy. But, the city charter--granted in 1708--provided for the appointment of "constables and other necessary officers". In all this time of having a police department and not having a police academy, you mean to tell me the city has still not figured out how to coordinate funding and room in surrounding academies? They already found office space for the Department of Economic Development--AND THE CHARTER AMENDMENT TO CREATE THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HAS NOT EVEN BEEN PASSED YET.

And while Detective Lee said he and other officers are continually questioned by people interested in joining the force, he doesn't know what to tell them.

Remember this...I'll get back to it.

Sgt. James Scott, the head recruitment officer for Annapolis police, said normally an exam would have been given in November and again in March. But he was told the funds were unavailable until the new budget kicked in this year.

OMG, in last year's budget, $96,000 was allotted for:

"Contract services: cost for on-line benefits program, Union & legal negotiations, employee physicals, psychological tests for police, Medical lab pre-employment & mandated CDS tests."

Folks, I am not making this stuff up. I have a hard copy of the budget if you would like to see it.

WHERE DID THIS MONEY GO??????????????????.....?

He said the cost depends on the number of applicants. He said he typically will get as many as 150 or 200 applications to take the exam.

Remember this too.

She (acting Chief Hopkins, I'm assuming) estimated the cost for each written test at $24 followed by physical, mental and emotional tests that can cost $700 per applicant.

So the total budget for this was $96,000. If the 'union & legal negotiations, and online-benefits' stuff takes up 75% of this budget, that would still leave $24,000 for testing, physicals, and emotional evaluations--enough to hire 33 officers. If the 'union & legal negotiations, and online-benefits' take up only half of the $96,000, you could hire 66 more officers. The current shortage is 22 officers. WHERE DID THE MONEY GO?

Sgt. Scott said he believes morale still is high among Annapolis officers, but will find out "what's on everyone's mind" during a recruiters committee meeting next week.

Here is how AP envisions that meeting:

Sgt. Scott: What's on your minds?
Everyone: Why don't you hire more officers?
Everyone: Our morale is low because we can't enforce the laws that we should.

Everybody asks when we're going to get people on, but that's a general question, he (Sgt. Scott) said.

Holy Crap!! 'When are we going to get people on' is, like, the most specific, non-general question I have ever heard! The answer is a fixed date in time, and can only be given after a specific recruitment plan is in place. Not to mention, that gives you a pretty damn good idea of what is on everyone's minds!

Ms. Moyer contends there is a nationwide shortage of qualified candidates to fill the police ranks and has said before that Mr. Weaver is working with Chief Johnson to create a pamphlet of information for those interested in a law-enforcement career.

AP: [dizzy, faints]

[7 minutes elapse]

AP: [comes to]

A nationwide shortage????!!! The head recruitment officer just said, like 3 paragraphs ago, that there are 150 to 200 applicants!!!! That's more applicants than the current size of the entire force!!! You could take the top 15% of the applicants and fill your vacancies! Forget about the pamphlet--offer the test!!

It's still unknown when the pamphlet will be completed.

AP: [re-faints]

The shortage in police officers is a nation wide crisis. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as internal security pressures, have made it very difficult for every police department to recruit and retain officers. Annapolis is far from alone in having difficulty recruiting and retaining police officers.

200 people don't even need to be recruited--they have already applied.

The current pay for newly hired officers -- $44,630.00 annually --is among the highest in the State. In fact, as of May 2007, it was the highest starting pay of any jurisdiction in the State. It is substantially higher than the starting salaries paid by Baltimore City,Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Howard County, and Montgomery County.

Difference is: those counties actually hire their recruits. Offer the test!

Simply put, the City believes it has made a proposal that would make employment with the Annapolis Police Department extremely attractive to both incumbents and prospective new hires. The salary, health benefits,retirement benefits, and working conditions would be among the most attractive in the region. Unfortunately, the Union has rejected this offer, and has offered nothing constructive as an alternative. As a result, negotiations remain deadlocked, with no apparent end in sight.

Umm...you did make employment attractive---so attractive that 150-200 people apply to take each of the semi-annual exams. That's 300-400 people a year. HOW THE HELL IS THERE A SHORTAGE? With those numbers, you can tell the union 'the hell with you', and hire as many people as you want based on free market labor principles. THAT IS, IF YOU OFFER THE ENTRANCE TEST.

It is my hope that this post will be put in a time capsule, to be opened when the mayor returns returns from Europe and the police chief returns from sick leave. (Attention Mayor Moyer and Chief Johnson: get the heck back to work and fix this problem.)

I hope you were paying attention to today's rant--there will be a test!

I am Madam Mayor Moyer and You Will Do What I Want

In an amazing display of bravado, Madam Mayor Moyer fired a department head after he expressed concern over something that contradicted her royal highness.

When it came time for Mr. Patmore, the director of public works, to comment on the mayor's proposal to shut down the city dock for a weekend and let between 2000 and 5000 people come to the city for a triathlon, use its resources, and swim in its waters, all for a grand total of (get this) $1 in rent, Mr. Patmore said:

The city is going to be a nightmare ... as far as street sanitation is concerned and as far as trash is concerned.

Quite right. Not to mention the city doesn't even have the necessary permit from the coast guard, which requires a 130 day advanced notice. Also not to mention that businesses downtown and on the water will lose money because nobody that is not competing in the bloody event will dare go downtown, even if they were able to.

Response from Madam Mayor Moyer: Mr. Patmore is fired.

Statement (from The Capital):

Mr. Patmore is the only department head whose contract was not renewed, Ms. Moyer said. But she said his dismissal was "unfortunate timing" and that his testimony at the meeting was not the reason for his dismissal.

"He's always been very good in bringing to me the concerns with any capital project," Ms. Moyer said. "In the hearing on the triathlon, he brought some issues before the council, some of which I happened to agree with."

Please, I beg you, make your own judgement. He was the only dept. director not to be renewed--the only stinking one! There are other department heads (read: police chief) that could stand to have way more scrutiny than ol' Patmore.

I have personally sat in on meetings where Mr. Patmore participated, including his department's annual review of it's budget, and he appeared to me as a quite capable servant.