In Letter, Gov. Hogan Pledges More Resources To Fight Baltimore Crime, Endorses Surveillance Plane

In a letter to Baltimore City Mayor Bernard C. "Jack" Young and Police Commissioner Michael Harrison, Gov. Larry Hogan endorsed the controversial surveillance flights over Baltimore.

"We understand that this has been offered at no cost to Baltimore for up to three years," Hogan wrote. "We urge you to implement this program immediately."

READ THE LETTER

Hogan said Maryland State Police helicopters will conduct law enforcement tactical flights whenever their duties bring them into or near the city. That includes when they leave Baltimore hospitals following medivacs and when they are headed to or from their headquarters at Martin State Airport.

Scott Wykoff reports:

The letter was a follow-up to a meeting Hogan had last month with Young and Harrison.

"You have inherited a difficult situation, but now is the time to show the people of the city that we are all serious about stopping this deadly violence and getting shooters off of the streets," Hogan wrote. "This must be the focus of our collective efforts."

Last month, Harrison met with leaders of Persistent Surveillance Solutions. CEO Ross McNutt has said an anonymous donor is willing to pay for administration and oversight of the program. It was briefly run in Baltimore amid a crime spike in 2016. Small planes use cameras to capture half of the city at a high altitude, allowing investigators to trace the path of cars or individuals leaving crime scenes and other information that could provide officers with leads.

However, residents and activists raised privacy concerns and top city lawmakers, including Young (then the City Council president), didn't know anything about the flights in 2016 until reading news reports.

Harrison said after the meeting he had reached "no decision" on whether to bring the program back.

Hogan also urged better accountability for violent crime reduction in Harrison's crime plan and support for tougher sentences for repeat violent offenders. Hogan said Harrison's strategy should be more aggressive in its targets for homicide clearance rates, meaning how many cases lead to arrests. Harrison set his goal at 40%. However, Hogan noted, the statewide average is 60%, and he said city police should strive for the same number. Hogan said much of the crime plan "represents the status quo and is already being done or has been tried before."

"While your new crime reduction strategy takes some important steps in the right direction, much of what you propose represents the status quo and is already being done or tried before," Hogan said in the letter.

Harrison took exception to the idea that the plan is old hat.

"It outlines many things that we do not have and have not had and it talks about comprehensive strategies to reduce crime," Harrison said. "But it's also a five-year transformational plan and it is a plan that we have not had in many years."

Young said he looks forward to meeting with the governor and lawmakers to come to an agreement on legislative proposals and other measures.

"We have to do something," Young said. "Whatever that is, I can't speak to right now. There's been nothing introduced as far as I know."

Hogan said his office is prepared to provide $21 million in state funding if the city submits acceptable quarterly performance reports to state officials starting no later than Oct. 15.