A report from a grand jury convened to investigate the “lack of confidence” between the Baltimore City Police Department and the community, has been ignored, city leaders said.
The report, released in March with little fanfare, recommended a 50 percent cut in the number of arrests that do not result in charges by the end of this year.
State Del. Jill Carter said the findings of the grand jury address many of the problems that plague the city?s criminal justice system.
“The jury was asked to find out why jurors don?t trust police officers,” she said. “The report gets to the heart of what is going in the city,” she said.
Among the findings in the report was that 97 percent of Baltimoreans said they do not know the police officers who patrol their community.
The report also said that the number of people arrested in Baltimore compared to other jurisdictions such as Prince George?s and Montgomery counties was “overwhelming.”
The jury noted the toll the city?s arrest rate has taken on the city?s black community, finding that 21,172 blacks were arrested but notcharged in 2005, a statistic that the report concluded was “bordering on violating a person?s constitutional rights.”
Marvin “Doc” Cheatham, president of the Baltimore chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the report only confirms his view that the city?s alleged arrest policy is not productive.
“It doesn?t take a rocket scientist to see the very negative affects that nonexpunged arrest records are having on men in general, and African-American men in particular,” Cheatham said.
Spokesman Matt Jablow said the police department makes a concerted effort to build goodwill in the city.
“We have numerous programs that foster good relationships with community members: Get Out of the Game [a program that finds legal employment for former drug dealers], safe zones, [Police Athletic League] centers, among others,” Jablow said. He also cited numerous meetings with community associations.
The jury also recommended that people arrested who are not charged should have their records expunged automatically within 30 days at no cost rather than having to pay a $37 expungement fee.
Frank Conaway, clerk of the court, said the report is an important barometer of how the community feels about the police department.
“The grand jury is very important,” Conaway said.
“It?s supposed to be a cross-section of the opinion of the community.”
