The Baltimore Police Department needs to continue exploring redistricting, is “top heavy,” and should disband its neighborhood services unit, says recommendations by new Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s transition committee for public safety reported by the Baltimore Sun. The report is notable for “major immediate action items” compiled by the police department in its own assessment: police leaders want the city to lift a hiring freeze in the crime lab and for 911 personnel, and would like to give district commanders a pay bump.
The department has in the past boasted about cutting overtime spending significantly, but officials say that additional cuts cannot be sustained and that additional spending would “significantly bolster the crime fighting efforts for the department.” The transition committee recommended that the Mayor’s Office on Criminal Justice look to bolster the city’s surveillance camera network by wiring in public and private camera systems, and should explore the creation of a volunteer program to assist in running the juvenile curfew center.