A CITY BESIEGED PONDERS CLOSURES

As Homicides Climb, Street Lockdowns Are Proposed In Baltimore

BALTIMORE -- Large swaths of Baltimore could be declared emergency
areas subject to heightened police enforcement -- including a
lockdown of streets -- under a city councilman's proposal that aims
to slow the city's climbing homicide count.

The legislation, which met with lukewarm response from Mayor Sheila
Dixon's administration Wednesday -- and which others likened to
martial law -- would allow police to close liquor stores and bars,
limit the number of people on city sidewalks and halt traffic in
areas declared "public safety act zones." It comes as the number of
homicides in Baltimore reached 108, up from 98 the same time last year.

"Desperate measures are needed when we're in desperate situations,"
said City Council Vice President Robert W. Curran, the bill's author.
"What I'm trying to do is give the mayor additional tools."

By introducing the legislation, Curran -- who is an ally of Dixon --
is promoting increased enforcement at a time when City Hall is moving
in the opposite direction, shifting away from zero tolerance and
toward an approach that focuses more attention on individual
criminals. Dixon has sought to ease tension between police and
residents who feel the city's past arrest policies were overzealous.

In addition to closing businesses in the zones, the bill would permit
police to limit the number of people who could gather on sidewalks,
in streets or in other outdoor areas. It would prohibit the sale and
possession of weapons, though Curran acknowledged that weapons used
by criminals are almost always already obtained illegally. Zones
could be established solely by the mayor, initially for a two-week
period, with the option to renew indefinitely.

Provisions of the bill are identical to a law in Philadelphia that
recently gained attention when a mayoral candidate and former city
councilman proposed relying more aggressively on the code. That
candidate, Michael Nutter, won the Democratic nomination for mayor Tuesday.

Echoing an element of Nutter's campaign platform, Curran said police
would be encouraged to do "very aggressive and constitutional"
frisking of individuals for weapons in the zones. That practice has
been under scrutiny since a 2005 report found the department lost
track of how many times it pats people down.

Curran's proposal, which he said he would introduce in the City
Council on Monday, is also likely to raise questions by civil libertarians.

Philadelphia's law allows the city to impose a curfew in the
emergency zones, but Curran said he removed that provision from his
bill because it seemed too strict.