Every hour on the hour, Baltimore police dispatcher John McCall used to remind officers on the street to wear their seat belts, says the Baltimore Sun. That was more than a decade ago, and McCall’s brand of police shtick is no longer a fixture on the radio. New reminders will be coming for officers who disregard the rules and drive without seat belts, or who walk in scuffed-up shoes, or who misuse office equipment, or misspend money. Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld is restoring the Inspections Unit.
The unit will not take punitive action against fellow cops, but will report their findings to commanders, who will be expected to make appropriate adjustments. Inspectors will examine whether undercover officers are appropriately spending money on informants, whether cops are carrying the required equipment, whether vehicles are clean and up to code and have all their headlights, and whether officers are illegally texting while driving. The president of the Fraternal Order of Police union, Robert Cherry, noted a deterioriation in appearance of the rank-and-file cops. “I think we need to tighten up,” he said.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-hermann-police-inspections-20110216,0,7474573.story