Police Athletic League

A Baltimore police major who was removed as head of the Police Athletic League program amid an internal investigation into his conduct has retired from the force, ending a 26-year career with the department.Maj. Frank Melcavage, 49, retired Monday. Details of the investigation, the subject of numerous rumors at the downtown police headquarters building, will not be made public."I'm not going to get in it," said spokesman Sam Ringgold. "It was an allegation that wasn't proved one way or another because the retirement stopped the investigation."

More than 2,500 youngsters are expected to attend a rally Friday at Morgan State University where Baltimore-area police officers will talk to children about abstaining from drugs and offer other tips to stay safe."

In the coming months, you'll see billboards in Baltimore touting the Police Department, and you'll hear radio spots about its good deeds.There will be messages about a youth choir sponsored by the department, a mentoring program and efforts to revive a Police Athletic League in the city.It's all part of a two-year, multimillion-dollar advertising drive designed to spread the word about the department's work in the community, Greg DesRoches, president of the Advertising Association of Baltimore, said yesterday.

THE FUTURE SAFETY of Baltimore County may hinge on how well it deals with trouble-prone juveniles. While crime in the county is dropping, the number of crimes committed by youths is rising.Last year, 35 percent of all serious arrests were committed by children under 18. If thousands of kids grow into adults with no regard for the law, county residents will lose the relative safety they enjoy today. They will pay in a monetary sense, too -- through higher taxes for more jails, more police and public assistance for the dependents these miscreants won't have the skills to support.

ONE OF THE REAL tragedies of life in Baltimore is the glaring inadequacy of city recreation centers in some neighborhoods that need them the most. None of the 69 rec centers is generously funded by city government, which usually means those unable to finance youth programs through participant fees simply do without those activities.Children in the poorest neighborhoods suffer the most. Without a recreational outlet, the lures of the street become more enticing. Police Chief Thomas C. Frazier recognizes the link between juvenile delinquency and inadequate youth programs.

The players huddled, alternately tugging on their beige T-shirts and listening to their coach dish out last-minute advice. Parents seated in wooden risers across the gymnasium yelled words of encouragement. In unison, the squad yelled "teamwork" and the point guards brought the basketball out for the start of the first game at Lake Clifton-Eastern High in Northeast Baltimore last night.The game was one of more than a dozen at four Baltimore schools, marking the official rebirth of city Police Department-sponsored teen athletic programs halted two years ago because of budget cuts.

The players huddled together, alternately tugging on their beige T-shirts and listening to their coach dish out last-minute advice. Parents seated in wooden risers across the gymnasium yelled words of encouragement. In unison, the squad yelled "teamwork" and the point guards brought the basketball out for the start of the first game at Lake Clifton-Eastern High in Northeast Baltimore last night.The game was one of more than a dozen at four Baltimore schools, marking the official rebirth of city Police Department-sponsored teen athletic programs halted two years ago because of budget cuts.

County school board selects new officers The Baltimore County school board has named new officers for the coming year. The panel selected board member JoAnn C. Murphy to serve as president and member H. Edward Parker Jr. to be vice president. Murphy, who joined the board in 2005, is a former county teacher and administrator. During a 30-year career with the system, she supervised programs in community relations, public information and human resources. As president, Murphy replaces Donald L. Arnold, whose term on the board ended last month.

Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley unveiled yesterday a much-anticipated blueprint for fighting crime that concludes past policing strategies contributed to violence and public hostility and suspicion. "The persistence of high crime has undermined the public's confidence in the Baltimore Police Department," the 152-page report by a team of consultants concludes. "And there is justification for this lost faith." The report was released as city government sources said O'Malley is getting closer to naming Edward T. Norris, a former New York police commander hired as deputy chief in January, as his choice for commissioner.

The summer months offer 13-year-old Darryl Parker a stark choice: He can pocket $200 a week selling cocaine for his cousin or play soccer with Baltimore police officers."