"It's an admission that she knows the policing strategy in Baltimore City is not working," said Witherspoon, who led many of the protests in the city over the last year."Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts acknowledged this past week that officers have struggled to do basic police work in the Western District, saying that they have been routinely surrounded by dozens of people, video cameras and hostility.Overall, Baltimore has experienced 42 homicides in the last 30 days, part of an unusual surge of shootings that started about the same time Freddie Gray was arrested on April 12 in West Baltimore."

Shakeup in Baltimore mayor's criminal justice leadership

Read the full story here:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-mayor-top-criminal-justice-staffers-depart-20150523-story.html#page=1

With Baltimore in the midst of one of its most violent stretches in years, a top criminal justice leader for Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has left, marking the biggest shakeup in her administration since the recent rioting and unrest in the city.Angela Johnese, the director of the Mayor's Office on Criminal Justice, had spent more than two years leading the office and played a key role in expanding Baltimore's youth curfew law last year, making it one of the strictest in the nation.Additionally, Heather Brantner, the mayor's Sexual Assault Response Team coordinator, has left.

Both departed Friday.Howard Libit, a spokesman for Rawlings-Blake, confirmed Saturday that Johnese and Brantner are no longer in their positions, but he declined to say under what terms they left. He said he would not comment on "the specifics of personnel actions."City Councilman Nick Mosby, a member of the Public Safety Committee, said the departures come at a time that is "problematic in urban areas like Baltimore, where every summer you see a spike in violence.""They are the folks who have the road map of the initiatives and programs we're developing to really reduce crime," he said. "Their job is to plan throughout the year for the summer.

It concerns me."Mosby said city officials need to share what the plan is and the reasons were that prompted the departures."Was there a problem there? How can we implement the plans that should have been in place to make sure we are ahead of violence prevention as much as possible?" Mosby said.

City Councilman Brandon M. Scott, vice chairman of the Public Safety Committee, said he learned of the departures Friday but did not know the reasons for them.

Last edited by Common Sense (6/02/2015 5:35 pm)