Crime

State Del. Pat McDonough told the Sun last week that he wasn't going to back down from claims made in a press release that 'black youth mobs terrorize" downtown Baltimore. And in his Saturday night radio show on WCBM (AM-680), he not only made good on that pledge, he ratcheted up the rhetoric ripping Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake while vowing to bring the issue of downtown public safety to the front burner of public consciousness with a "news conference" Tuesday -- and other actions to follow.

For the past three years, Maryland has experienced an unprecedented crime wave of political corruption. The only comparable period in memory would be the 1970s, when a governor was jailed and a sitting U.S. vice president (who had served as governor and Baltimore County executive) resigned in shame. The current offenders have been high-ranking elected officials, and the offenses have been far more serious than simple lapses in judgment. They have involved a level of hubris and ethical depravity that are shocking by any standard.

Baltimore police can text you with news of shootings and arrests. You can see pictures of officers and their helicopters and horses on Facebook, where you can also add comments, good and bad, on the department's wall. You can even follow the department on Twitter. And now, your city cops can send mug shots of wanted felons right to your cell phone. It's a new social media adventure that began Monday and could be expanded if it proves useful and popular. Many police departments across the country are online in various ways, but few use instant communication to inform residents of breaking crime news.

The delegate from the city's northern suburbs is sounding off again about Baltimore crime, calling for the mayor to resign unless she convenes a "solutions summit" and demanding a "citywide curfew" be put in place. Of course, the city already has a curfew, and a curfew center, which not only holds wayward youth but links staff with parents to determine why the children are out later than allowed. The Sun's police reporter, Justin Fenton, visited the center back in August.

With respect to the use of surveillance cameras, both state and local governments have their priorities set for monetary gain rather than public safety. Red-light and speed-camera surveillance using high resolution cameras leave no doubt about the identity of the offending vehicle. The offender receives a citation stating that if the fine is paid, no points will be added to his driving record, and no increase will be made to his insurance rates. In other words, pay the fine and everyone forgets about it. What does this have to do with public safety?

It was the talk of Roland Park. A couple was held up at gunpoint on a street in the middle of the day. The man brandished a silver handgun and covered his face with a ski mask. He stole a wallet, credit cards and a purse with the woman's diamond engagement ring, then sped away in a minivan. It occurred Tuesday afternoon. Steve Elkins picked up his morning newspaper the next day and saw no mention of the crime. "For other parts of the city, the incident might not be newsworthy, but for low-crime and ostensibly 'safe' Roland Park it is surprising, and as a resident of the area, something I find disturbing," Elkins wrote me in an e-mail.

In regards to Peter Hermann's column on "You think there's too much crime reporting?" (Aug. 29), I might say, "You think there's nothing else going on besides crime?" Yes, it sells papers. But so do the human interest stories about the many positive things going on in our region. Which is why I'm saddened that, even though there is a separate column devoted just to crime reporting, the "Around the Region" section is at least 80 percent about crime. Come on, let's talk about the many interesting, informative things that are happening in our area.

In your editorial ( "Healing Neighborhoods" May 8) you alleged that violent crime and foreclosures in northeast Baltimore City have spiked. You proceeded to name our community, Lauraville, as one of the impacted neighborhoods. However, you then failed to provide any evidence to support your erroneous claim as it related to Lauraville. If you had taken time to look at the crime statistics and foreclosures/housing values you would discover that your allegations are without foundation. It is very troubling to see The Sun publish articles characterizing communities based on poor reporting and research.

I have never commented on any article in your paper before, but this article ("Nothing new about fear-of-crime complaints," Aug. 4) upset me so much that I had to say something. In what way do these stats "counter" city residents' fears about crime? I cannot imagine how hard a policeman's job in Baltimore must be, but the scrutiny that the department receives for the continued state of crime in this city is in no way unfair. I live in Mount Vernon and generally feel very safe in my neighborhood.

The most deadly terrorist attack on America since Sept. 11, 2011 was by Nadal Hassan, who killed 13 people. Unbelievably, this attack took place at an Army base where for safety reasons no one was allowed to protect themselves. The military police were supposed to do all the protecting. Shamefully, that's not quite how it worked out. It happened that the only one with a gun was a female police officer who responded to a 911 call. Anyone with a gun could have stopped Mr. Hassan in Texas or Jared Lee Loughner in Arizona.

Joanna Sullivan knows what she saw Saturday night as she and her husband peered through the window of their home overlooking Patterson Park - more than 20 youths involved in a "melee" on the tennis courts. But police statistics and incidents reports won't show that any such incident took place. The reason points to a disconnect between residents' experiences with crimes and longstanding police policies. The incident occurred at about 9 p.m. on the Patterson Park tennis courts.

The ongoing debate over youth crime in downtown Baltimore has sparked a war of words over race — overshadowing a debate over the police response to disturbances and objections from city politicians who say the issue is vastly overblown. Since a state delegate introduced the term "black youth mobs" in reference to hundreds of teenagers mobbing downtown on St. Patrick's Day, discussions from living rooms to online forums have been dominated by race. That has left little room for discussion of the real issues, all sides agree.

The Anne Arundel County Council passed a resolution Monday night commending the county police department — but not its chief — for decreasing crime in 2011. The council passed the resolution only after approving an amendment specifically removing Police Chief James E. Teare Sr.'s name from the language. The councilmanic move follows another council resolution last month expressing no confidence in Teare. The council said it is concerned with Teare's ability to lead the police department in light of certain allegations in the March indictment of County Executive John R. Leopold.

Alan Gross, the Potomac man serving 15 years in Cuba after carrying communications equipment into the communist island nation, continues to communicate with supporters from the military hospital where he is held. The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington said Monday that Gross called to express his gratitude for the efforts of the Jewish community to push for his release. "I worked many years to reinforce the concept of community and I really feel it," Gross, 63, said during the telephone call last week, according to the council.

State Del. Pat McDonough told the Sun last week that he wasn't going to back down from claims made in a press release that 'black youth mobs terrorize" downtown Baltimore. And in his Saturday night radio show on WCBM (AM-680), he not only made good on that pledge, he ratcheted up the rhetoric ripping Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake while vowing to bring the issue of downtown public safety to the front burner of public consciousness with a "news conference" Tuesday -- and other actions to follow.

So the people got sick of it, all those criminals being coddled by all those bleeding heart liberal judges with all their soft-headed concern for rights and rehabilitation. And a wave swept this country in the Reagan years, a wave ridden by pundits and politicians seeking power, a wave that said, no mercy, no more. From now on, judges would be severely limited in the sentences they could hand down for certain crimes, required to impose certain punishments whether or not they thought those punishments fit the circumstances at hand.

Regarding your report of the alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl in Baltimore: As a 16-year-old girl myself, I feel the city is not getting much better dealing with crime ("DNA links man to rape of girl, 13, in October," Nov. 29). Day after day, I see headlines about some young girl or boy being kidnapped or raped and it makes me feel that nowhere is safe. The girl that was raped was just coming from a friend's house and going to the store, minding her own business, and then some disgusting man comes and decides to push her into a vacant dwelling and rape her. I just do not understand why men can't leave little kids alone and stop instilling fear and emotional pain on their lives.

The Monday morning quarterbacks have been criticizing Judge John Addison Howard incessantly for being overly lenient and failing to jail John Wagner for violating his probation ("Plea deal puts robber back on street," Aug. 8). Mr. Wagner has subsequently been charged with the death of Stephen Pitcairn. While I can not discuss the specifics of the Wagner case, as the lawyer who supervises the Violation of Probation Unit of the Office of the Public Defender for Baltimore City, I can speak to what kind of jurist Judge Howard is when it comes to the people he places on probation.

Who doesn't love a tree? Apparently, criminals. Researchers have found that leafier places in Baltimore tend to have lower crime rates than those with few or no trees. A new study looking across Baltimore City and Baltimore County has found that with few exceptions, the frequency of crimes reported in a particular block or neighborhood goes down as the tree cover gets thicker. Just a 10 percent increase in leaf canopy was associated with a 12 percent drop in crime, it concluded. The study, published online in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning, supports arguments by advocates that environmental factors, and not just more police, can fight crime.

North Calvert Street 3400 block, between noon and 3 p.m. May 10. Handicap placard stolen from vehicle. 3300 block, between 6:45 a.m. and 3:38 p.m. May 7. Credit cards, driver's license, Social Security card stolen from purse at work. Cator Avenue 700 block, between 9:30 p.m. May 8 and 8:30 a.m. May 9. Tan wicker furniture stolen from front porch. Cedarcroft Road 1100 block, between 9:30 p.m. May 10 and 12:08 a.m. May 11. White, 1997 Mercedes S420 with Maryland tags 8FZD89 stolen.