Baltimore’s federal delegation, mayor commit to being tough on crime as $8M in public safety earmarks announced

Baltimore’s federal delegation and Mayor Brandon Scott took a tough on crime stance Friday afternoon at a news conference announcing nearly $8 million in federal funds meant to boost public safety.

The federal funds are Baltimore’s first in Congress’s revived earmarks program — the allocation of federal dollars for specific projects — and are meant to stem crime and help the Baltimore Police Department comply with its federal consent decree.

Scott and Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said the federal funding will help police do their jobs better at a time when gun violence is rampant. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, a Democrat representing most of Baltimore City, said the funding would help free up officers to put more “boots on the ground” in neighborhoods, which would rebuild community trust and curb crime.

“If we do not make crime our number one priority, every day, every night and in every way, the peril will take place and we will see ourselves treading water,” Mfume said.

The police department will receive about $5.3 million for four projects: A 911 diversion program, updating the records management system, increasing community collaboration with police and helping to develop neighborhood policing plans.

The records management system was updated in 2020 — before that all police reports and records were kept on paper — and the $2 million earmarked for the program is meant to offset some of the upfront costs the city incurred when it digitized the system, Police Department Spokesperson Lindsey Eldridge said.

The 911 diversion program is meant to funnel calls about mental health crisis and drug use away from police and toward other service providers to lessen the number of people exposed to the criminal justice system. The other three programs are mandated by the consent decree.

A U.S. Department of Justice investigation found a pattern of unconstitutional policing, particularly in poor, predominantly Black neighborhoods, leading to the consent decree. Among other things, the settlement calls for enhanced civilian oversight and transparency.

Baltimore has recorded at least 300 homicides every year since 2015, but Sen. Ben Cardin, a Democrat, said all of Baltimore’s federal delegation believes in Scott’s ability to get a handle on things and that the earmarks are proof.

“We’ve helped to make sure that those funds are directed to Baltimore City, because we have confidence in the leadership of Baltimore and we have confidence that working together we can deliver for the people of Baltimore City,” Cardin said.

In addition to the money for BPD, the delegation is sending about $2.6 million to five nonprofits that work to prevent violence in the city. The Living Classrooms Foundation’s Crisis Management System will receive $750,000; Lifebridge Health Community Violence Cessation will receive $600,000; the University of Maryland Medical Center Shock Trauma Violence Prevention Program will receive $497,000; Roca Baltimore will get $400,000 to start a pilot program in South Baltimore aimed at reducing violence; and Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence will get $376,000.

Commonly referred to as “pork,” the earmark program was ended a decade ago after lawmakers repeatedly used federal funds for pet projects. Congressional leadership revived the program in 2021 and the allocations are subject to more oversight than in years past, Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen said.

Members of Baltimore’s all Democratic federal delegation met with Scott after the news conference to discuss future earmarks as preventing crime remains top of mind.

“We’ve got to just admit one thing: We are still a very violent city,” Mfume said. “And the only way to deal with that is to acknowledge it and to work like hell to do something about it.”