The Baltimore City branch of the NAACP on Tuesday called for Mayor Sheila Dixon to start an investigation in the police department?s homicide unit, alleging those detectives are hired based on cronyism.
“It is our understanding that the overwhelming majority of the command staff is white,” said Marvin “Doc” Cheatham, president of the city National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in a statement. “… The majority of those recruited in this unit are friends of the command staff that purportedly have no relationship or history in the community.”
Cheatham also asked Dixon to probe the number of cases the unit has solved in the past five years and compare the data to each officer?s experience and recruitment.
According to data collected by The Examiner, 60 percent of 2002 homicide cases have been solved, 57 percent of 2003?s cases; 54 percent of 2004?s; 46 percent of 2005?s and 44 percent of 2006?s. Of this year?s 253 homicides, 91 are closed.
The NAACP also has called for a City Council probe into alleged racism in the police department with regard to promotions.
Dixon?s spokesman, Anthony McCarthy, said she “appreciates the concerns of the NAACP and will take their call for a review of police promotions under advisement.”
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