MONEY FOR SOMETHING

When the Dawson family was firebombed to death in Baltimore, the shock
and outrage rippled across the city and the nation. The cry: "Never
again."

That law-abiding people - and their children - should die as a result
of doing their community duty was appalling.

That criminals could rule a neighborhood and impose their own brand of
"justice" on residents was terrifying.

These killings, as well as the continuing attrition in the city's
hardest communities, have spurred officials to seek extra help in
maintaining order and keeping residents safe. The latest is the Dawson
Family Community Protection Act, sponsored by Rep. Elijah E. Cummings,
which would set aside federal money for services in targeted Baltimore
neighborhoods.

The Dawson bill rides with the Office of National Drug Control Policy
reauthorization bill, which House members should consider a priority
when they return in September. It would slice $1 million off the top
of the drug policy budget for each high-intensity drug area on the
list - in some 28 districts nationwide, including the Baltimore area.

The national drug control office money that remained also would be
shared among the district offices, then distributed to multi-agency
groups - including state, local and federal divisions and others, as
the office sees fit. The department is asking the House for $206
million total; the amount has been boosted in the past, and some House
watchers predict the final budget will be closer to $226 million.

In the name of the Dawsons, the city already received an extra $2
million last year from the federal funds. That money was spent in part
on supporting the multi-agency Baltimore Targeting Initiative,
concentrating on three high-crime city areas and buying equipment for
surveillance, software to track crimes and criminals, street lighting
and more police patrols.

The new money would go to continue those efforts as well as to foster
ways for neighbors to be part of the solution yet still safe.
Suggestions include hotlines and better monitoring of threatened
families without having to relocate them.

The Baltimore/D.C. district drug office is the only one that also
spends money on programs aiming to treat and prevent crime, not just
enforce the law. It recently reconstituted a program that will pay two
people to work with the city Police Department, the mayor's office and
neighborhoods to increase community involvement in reclaiming the
territories from which the police intend to clear the drug trade.

The high-intensity drug program has had some success, especially at
reducing the rate of repeat offenders, but not enough. So far this
year, 168 people have been killed in the city, many in these target
areas. A neighbor on the Dawsons' block reports seeing extra police
patrols for a while, but fewer now. Communities and their protectors
cannot lessen the pressure.

In a year when state funding is being cut for drug treatment in the
city and for the departments of Juvenile Services and Health and
Mental Hygiene, Baltimore needs all the federal help it can get. The
Dawson bill is a solid next step.