MoPoDC Poet: Baltimore Safety Meeting Central District 8/5/15 @7pm

What’s up BMore?

Thank you to all that came out to the Public Safety forum the other night. It was really nice to see so many people who cared enough to show up and let their voices be heard. And that they did.

Let me say thank you to the Mayor, Police Chief, Fire Chief, and the other officials, clergy leaders and community leaders that were present. I’m sure all who came out were there because they also want to help fix the problems affecting the community.

One problem we cannot seem to get around, and not just in Baltimore, is whether or not the persons who witnessed the crimes being committed will come forth and testify, or snitch as some would say. Yes, it is snitching no matter how we choose to look at it. But, if snitching can give you and your neighborhood peace at night then why not? What are your choices to feel safe? To not say anything or to bring criminal offenders to justice and help more people from being affected,recruited, shut down, and misused by these types of people. Then we start having more of these type ,uninvolved, unconcerned, (apathetic) people because they think no one cares or there is just no hope there for improving their neighborhood. At some point, we have to break that cycle of destructive behavior and say "not in my neighborhood". Now is the time to do it.

I heard of a couple of cases were someone was shot or killed in broad day light while people just watched the shooter(s) do it. No one was charged in those incidents and that person is still walking around freely. This leads to my other question. What could the Police or Special Forces Police Team do in cases like these to reassure the safety of individuals and/or their family?

What special protection program could someone be placed under, which would ensure their identity is safe should they choose to testify in a neighborhood crime incident?

What about the "rats" inside the police department? How do you "out" those who are leaking information or working with/for the thugs/ gangs?

I would think these thoughts and more go through peoples' head when they are considering snitching. Now, if we could come up with ways to remove some of these worries among others, maybe we can make some progress in addressing the community's concerns.

Alike, we stand together in the neighborhood with Baltimore's finest side by side in confronting those evil doers together. I don’t know what it will take, but we have to figure out something quickly because we are losing too many people... especially our young people.

Now back to the Safety meeting; I also heard people talk about their kids having nothing constructive to do around the area,which leaves kids a lot of time to get into trouble. They also talked about reviving some of the community centers so that kids would have something available to help them stay out of trouble. Akin to what Mr. Bill Knoll shared about when he was growing up, saying how the Recreation centers helped him stay out of trouble. Or, Mr. Bobby Powel when he talked about the old days when the police officers used to be part of the Boys Clubs and how that helped the kids maintain good behavior back in those days. One young lady talked about getting some kind of counseling for the kids that are experiencing the loss of friends and love ones. Or the one young man, Mr. Bates I think, who was a great representation for the Baltimore people in bringing up the closing of elementary schools and recreation centers and how the community opposed it.

There were many more people who had great ideas, and the Mayor and Police Chief addressed everyone's concerns. But, I really loved what the new Police Chief had to say about trying to be the first to get this right, and how they want to make BMore better all-around they (Police force) are ready to get started with their new actions to try to treat all the people of Baltimore with respect and courtesy.

Many people informed me that they are excited about the new changes; they just want something done in the mean time until Baltimore officials get a plan in place to combat the violence in their community. I heard some say that they wanted boots on the ground now in their neighborhood. That means police officers there to protect and serve, not to harass or stop every young black man or person they see... making them lie on the ground in the mud or rain or illegal searching them just because they can.

Overall, I was really happy about seeing the people in the community come together for one cause. Not only did they know some of the police officers that were there, but it seemed like they had a connection with them. The people also said they needed more police officers that they knew and understood the circumstances of their neighborhood.

Let’s keep a positive mind set and let’s see what more Mayor Rawling-Blake does with her new opportunity to help make things better for the community. But I appreciated her effort so far.

Nice job BMore. Things are starting to look up for you and your city.

I feel like its just amount of time for the change to sink in.

One Love MoPoDC4 Peace