Friday, July 6, 2007

City Council Responds to Crime Emergency...by Not Voting.

Originally published Jul 6, 2007
Jean Marbella
Maybe it's semantics. When I hear the word "emergency" I think: urgent. I think: right now. And I think: action.Or maybe that's just me, being a stickler for language.Yesterday, a Baltimore City Council committee met and heard an "emergency plan" proposed by Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to deal with Baltimore's crime problem and its shortage of police officers. Rawlings-Blake wanted to spend $2 million on "an immediate and aggressive campaign" to recruit more cops.Everyone seemed to agree on the emergency part. The council members decried the growing number of homicides. They rued the extra burdens placed on a police force that has, by the most conservative count, 140 unfilled vacancies. They accused county police departments of paying their cops more, and using "signing bonuses" - or are they "relocation expenses" - to lure away city officers.Then they moved on without voting on it.
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