Police

Good Cops

Most Baltimore cops are clean. The vast vast majority. But of course there are dirty cops. We know so because they get caught. Too bad the record of prosecuting dirty cops in Baltimore isn’t too good. Peter Hermann reports.

Police

I Heart Crab

I love Maryland crabs. Even more than I love Maryland venison. And I do love eating the deer. But I think steamed blue crab may be the most delicious food in the world. Last night my friend cooked a true Maryland-inspired crab feast for twenty people. She’s gone down to Baltimore twice now for my sergeant’s church crab feast. She…

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Police

Fed-up business people respond to robbery spree

[He] was in the middle of a string of 17 robberies of city business in 22 days, police say. … [In 2005] Lomax was sentenced to 21 years in prison, but the conviction was overturned on appeal. When the case came back to court on June 22, Baltimore Circuit Judge John Addison Howard gave Lomax 15 years, suspending all but…

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Police

Two officers shot

Two officers down in Baltimore. Supposedly in stable condition. Supposedly returned fire, which is a good sign.

Police

The Idea of “Juvenile”

The state has an archaic system in which we operate under the misimpression that everyone under 18 can be rehabilitated for repeatedly committing violent crimes. We must find a way to provide rehabilitation, but also accountability and punishment. That’s kind of hardcore coming from, of all places, the office of Baltimore State’s Attorney Patricia Jessamy. Her office, as I write…

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Police

Help Wanted

There’s a Craigslist help wanted ad for chief of the BPD’s Criminal Investigations Division. Normally you would expect this position to be in internal promotion. Justin Fenton writes about this in the Sun.

Police

Baltimore Crime Stats

Peter Hermann writes about playing with the numbers and the problem of accurate reporting. “I would suspect this goes on in most police departments,” Busnuk told me. “Others don’t have the crime problem that we do and don’t have the political pressure. But this kind of reporting is built into the DNA of the police system.” Kind of like how…

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Police

Get tough on black-on-black crime

Bealefeld, Baltimore’s police commish, says: Those guys got fairly nominal sentences for some heinous stuff that they did to these kids, and if it happened in a white neighborhood in any other community in this state, we’d still be talking about it, and people would be talking about life sentences…. And these people get out essentially with a slap on…

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