Baltimore City Police Commissioner Michael Harrison has released a new Crime Reduction Strategy and a new 5-year strategic vision Crime Reduction and Departmental Transformation Plan for the City’s police force.

From the Crime Reduction Strategy:

This crime reduction strategy outlines the mission, guiding principles, performance goals, and plans Baltimore Police Department (BPD) will use to effectuate sustainable reductions in violent crime in Baltimore. This preliminary strategy represents the first step in a continuous process that will enhance how the BPD leverages data-driven and evidence-based approaches to prevent, disrupt, and deter violent crime. To execute this strategy effectively, BPD will provide ongoing training to officers and supervisors, monitor implementation through COMSTAT and other mechanisms, and continuously evaluate strategic outcomes to direct and redirect operational resources. This crime reduction strategy focuses on immediate operational tactics and deployment. BPD’s overall crime reduction and department transformation plan provides comprehensive, long-term, and sustainable approaches to reducing crime in Baltimore through systematically improving how the police department operates and coordinates with other agencies and organizations.

The Baltimore Sun summarizes 5 key takeaways from the strategy which include:

• 10-minute response times

• ‘Focused patrol areas’ created by data

• Ways to build stronger criminal cases

• Diversion programs

• New and better technology

The Crime Reduction and Departmental Transformation Plan sets a guiding framework for the Department. The Commissioner’s intro to the plan notes his policing philosophy and the approach that will be taken to transform the department over 5 years:

My philosophy is that officers should be tough on crime, but soft on people.
Good policing is all about three things: building relationships that were never
built; improving good relationships; and repairing bad ones. Good police
work is all about developing positive relationships with members of the
community — no matter who they are, where they live or what they do for a
living. These relationships will make our officers better at what they do and
make Baltimore a stronger and safer city.

…

With that in mind, we will be working closely with all stakeholders to leverage relationships with philanthropies, community groups, private individuals and corporations who want to help BPD and the city. We will ensure our officers get the training they need, which will, among other things, enable BPD to implement the initiatives needed to ease workload and improve performance. We will deploy our officers and our resources in the most effective way possible, using the best technology and the most scientific analysis available that will tell us where we need to be, when we need to be there, and on whom we should be focused.

For more information:

Baltimore City Police Crime Reduction Strategy and Transformation Plans (Baltimore City Police Department)

Here are 5 main takeaways from Baltimore Police commissioner Harrison’s new crime plan (The Baltimore Sun)