Agencies reveal actions to reduce violence in Baltimore

A group of federal and state law enforcement agencies, led by U.S. Attorney in Maryland Erek Barron and Gov. Larry Hogan, announced a new set of initiatives Thursday aimed at curbing violent crime in Baltimore.

A combination of different Maryland agencies will increase visibility and step up traffic enforcement on the major highways and arteries leading in and out of Baltimore city, with the Maryland State Police, the Baltimore County Police, Anne Arundel County Police and the Maryland Transportation Authority Police joining in, Barron said.

Hogan said at a news conference the traffic initiative already has led to “dozens” of arrests and citations. Authorities are increasing patrols on all the main thoroughfares headed in and out of the city, including Maryland Route 140, Route 26, the Baltimore National Pike and Maryland Route 2.

While more traffic enforcement, so long as it is constitutional, may lead to more drug and gun seizures, Barron told The Baltimore Sun in an exclusive interview, he hopes the increased visibility of law enforcement will serve as a deterrent.

“The constant, tragic loss of life should shock the conscience,” said Barron, a former Democratic member of the House of Delegates. “Only as one team — all levels of law enforcement working with the community — will we get this violence under control. We must protect our city.”

Also on Thursday, the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services revealed an ongoing effort, begun at Barron’s request, to monitor people currently on probation in the city who have been deemed to be “at risk” of reoffending, he said.

Known as “knock and talk,” the department’s program has identified hundreds of individuals in and around Baltimore and has formed eight teams to make unannounced home visits.

Each team includes a social worker, and efforts are made to try and connect the people, usually men, with social services in order to reduce recidivism, said Barron, adding that he personally has gone out on the visits.

At least 100 people have been contacted so far, Hogan said, and information from the visits is being shared with the Baltimore Police Department.

Unannounced home visits may be an overreach of authority and could subject young Black men to excessive and inappropriate surveillance while forcing them to interact with law enforcement, Baltimore City District Public Defender Marguerite Lanaux told The Sun.

“The idea of ‘knock and talk’ expects that people open their homes and speak to the police, which is not consistent with the protections of the Constitution,” Lanaux said. “Better evidence-based solutions exist that invest in communities and seek to address the underlying problems of poverty, mental health and substance abuse.”

A 2021 appointee of President Joe Biden, Barron has become increasingly involved in crime deterrence at the local level.

Homicides are not a federal crime, but Barron pays special attention to them. He keeps a chart of annual Baltimore homicide statistics in his office, using it as a background in video calls.

“This is not typically part of the job of the U.S. Attorney’s office, but somebody’s got to take responsibility and as the chief federal law enforcement officer, why not me,” Barron said.

Barron joined many of the same agencies, along with Hogan, in August to announce other programs meant to curb violence and additional state funding for Barron’s office.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said he welcomes Barron and Hogan’s support in working to make the city safer.

“Every initiative, every dollar spent, every person working to help make Baltimore better and safer — we appreciate,” Harrison said.

The efficacy of deterrence measures is difficult to quantify, Barron said, but he pointed to the number of homicides in September as evidence his strategies may have merit. Baltimore recorded 13 killings that month, the fewest in one month since 2015.

“What we’re doing is working,” Barron said.

Despite the September decrease, the city remains on pace to surpass its 2021 homicide total, according to figures from the Baltimore Police Department.

In calls to other agencies, Barron said he has tasked them with further reducing crime by year’s end.

“What can you give to the city of Baltimore that you’re not already doing?” he said.