MISPERCEPTIONS FEED ZERO-TOLERANCE SCARE

A Fact: Baltimore Police Arrest 2.5 Times More People Than New York's -but
Without Reducing Crime

NOTHING MORE strikingly illustrates the breakdown of law enforcement in
this city than the misperception that New York police are tougher on
criminals than Baltimore's.

In fact, during the past several years Baltimore officers have consistently
averaged at least 2.5 times more arrests than their New York counterparts.
But malfunctioning court and criminal-justice systems have undermined those
efforts, undoing prosecutions and allowing everyone from petty criminals to
murder suspects to get off unpunished.

The 162-page report by Mayor Martin O'Malley's New York police consultants
makes no mention of this fundamental discrepancy between Baltimore's
extraordinarily high arrest rate and the end result.

But the reality underscores how code words, fear-mongering and political
posturing can replace facts and overtake public debate. Thus New York,
because of the cowboy antics of controversial Republican Mayor Rudolph
Giuliani, becomes both an example of zero-tolerance policing's efficiency
and a poster child for its excesses.

Meanwhile, Baltimore's more vigorous -- but ultimately unproductive --
arrest posture gets little attention. The reason? During his 12 years at
City Hall, Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke bent over backwards to safeguard civil
liberties. He ruled out aggressive searches and apprehensions on suspicion,
regardless of how effective those tactics had proven in other cities. Yet
Baltimore during his final year had four times more officer-involved
shootings, proportionally, than New York, which recently grabbed headlines
for its glaring examples of police excesses.

As he launches the most radical police reorganization in 34 years, Mayor
Martin O'Malley's persuasiveness and salesmanship will be sorely tested.

He has to convince a dispirited and suspicious public that we can indeed
win the war against crime and homicides, which for the past decade have
made Baltimore one of the nation's most dangerous cities. At the same time,
he must dispel unwarranted apprehension about Edward T. Norris, his nominee
for police commissioner.

Because the 39-year-old Mr. Norris is a former New York City deputy
commissioner, some are fearful he would introduce Giuliani-style police
tactics to Baltimore. The departure of Commissioner Ronald L. Daniel --
after only 57 days on the job -- exacerbated these worries. Although he has
not talked publicly about the reasons, his resignation was prompted by
disagreements over the thrust and pace of the reforms recommended by Mayor
O'Malley's consultants.

The Maple/Linder Group report is indeed alarming. Not because of its
recommendations, but because of its harsh and detailed examination of the
police department's paralysis. (The report is available on the Internet at
www.baltimorecity.gov)

The report is particularly unflinching in discussing three interconnected
problems: poor priorities and misallocation of resources; technological
backwardness; and the lack of trust toward police.

Misallocation of officers

Last year, the city police received some 1.3 million 911 calls. More than
10 percent were false burglar alarms. A third had nothing to do with crime
emergencies. Yet the badly understaffed police force consistently responded.

As a first step toward correcting this problem, Mayor O'Malley supports the
idea of imposing stiff fines on alarm monitoring companies (not their
subscribers) for the innumerable false alarms that sap so much police time.

Overall, the police department hopes to move away from just reacting to 911
calls. The current detail of 135 narcotics investigators (of a force of
3,274 men and women) is being doubled so it can better respond to the drug
crisis. (One of every eight adults in the city is believed to be addicted
to heroin or cocaine)

A warrant apprehension task force is being expanded from five to 30
officers. It will hunt down chronic offenders charged in 54,000 outstanding
warrants, including nearly 250 suspects in murder or attempted-murder cases.

At the heart of the reallocation of resources is the Comstat computer
process, which was credited with producing a huge drop in crime in New York
in the early 1990s. Top commanders will analyze trends and respond to them
before they get out of control, aided by statistical data, including
pinpoint mapping of crime incidents street by street.

Beefing-up technology

A new technical response unit is being formed to create electronic
eavesdropping, wiretapping and other surveillance capabilities which the
police department currently lacks.

The goal is to quickly introduce such state-of-the-art resources as a photo
imaging system that allows officers to search for suspects from a database
that identifies criminals by description, operating method or name.

In addition to wider use of computers and video camcorders, an automatic
vehicle locator system is planned. It will enable patrol supervisors to
track the exact locations of all officers in the field.

Erasing distrust

The Maple/Linder report reveals an appalling lack of trust in the police
department -- on the part of ordinary citizens as well as officers.

A survey showed civilians viewed police inaction as an indication of
corruption among officers. Many officers, in turn, believed it futile to
arrest drug dealers who wound up back on the street the next day.

Many officers also questioned the integrity of departmental decisions. They
described training as inadequate, particularly in the use of force.
Discipline was seen as arbitrary. Seemingly unimportant matters acquired
racial dimensions: Since many more African-American officers live in the
city, they tended to feel their white counterparts were not sufficiently
familiar with neighborhoods or responsive enough to their needs.

Going for broke

The Maple/Linder policing plan represents the biggest restructuring since
1966 when an outside consultant named Donald D. Pomerleau proposed an
overhaul of the troubled police department and was invited to become the
commissioner.

In a way the same thing happened to Mr. Norris. A finalist for the
commissioner's job late last year, he was a protege of Jack Maple, the
chief consultant. When Commissioner Daniel began to have second thoughts
about implementing the New Yorkers' sweeping reorganization plan, Mr.
Norris was already waiting in the wings as his No. 2.

"With full and proper implementation of the actions set forth in this plan,
violent crime, including murder, will be dramatically reduced in three
years," the Maple/Linder team promises in its draft proposal. But in the
final version of the plan -- presented after Commissioner Daniel's ouster
- -- that deadline has been reduced to an even more ambitious two years.

That change shows Mayor O'Malley's impatience.

He won his resounding victory by promising a safe city. He has to deliver.
That's why he will use his influence to win quick council confirmation for
Mr. Norris.

More than two decades ago, when Cornelius Behan, another high-ranking New
York commander, was named Baltimore County police chief, many politicians
were suspicious of his background. In the end, though, Mr. Behan became one
of the best chiefs in the county's history.

Acting Commissioner Norris lacks Mr. Behan's wide experience. His strengths
are his relative youth and energy, qualities that come in handy in a
turnaround situation where no time can be wasted. He also has the benefit
of having seen the results when a police department gets out of control.

Since taking office four months ago, Mayor O'Malley has signaled that he is
ultimately responsible for the success -- or failure -- of Baltimore's
crime-fighting efforts. With the aid of the City Council and the new
civilian review board, he can make sure the police force will not only
become more efficient but also more responsive to Baltimoreans' desire for
a less-violent city.