Baltimore community organizations are balking at Gov. Wes Moore’s plan to send a surge of Maryland State Police and Maryland Transportation Authority Police into the city.
The concern is that increased policing will breed terror in the community, add a feeling of draconian oversight, open the door for a lack of transparency, endanger immigrants and cause increased arrests without actually lowering crime.
“This is a way for him to basically bow down to Trump,” said Kenya Levy, a member of the Maryland Party for Socialism and Liberation. “Bringing more police force into these areas that don't need it, I don't think that's actually going to solve any problems.”
Immigrant communities fear that Moore’s move could breed police violence and help in the deportation of people who are in the U.S. legally.
“Over policing black, immigrant and working class community doesn't bring safety, it brings trauma and surveillance into our communities,” said Crisaly De Los Santos, Baltimore and Central Maryland director at CASA.
The Maryland Fraternal Order of Police did not respond for comment for this article.
Moore made the announcement with Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott last week.
The decision comes after President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to send the National Guard to the city.
Baltimore is currently experiencing record low crime rates and is on track to have the lowest homicide rate in half a century.
“We do not need people putting in performative and theatrical resources, if you want to learn what works, come down. Come learn,” Gov. Wes Moore said Friday. “We are going to use an all of the above approach. You are never going to militarize your way into safe streets.”
Multiple studies over decades of research show that heavier policing does not correlate to lower crime rates. Instead, investing in healthcare, education and other programs that help with social determinants better communities.
Baltimoreans can expect more state police on the streets in “high-risk areas,” according to a press release from Moore’s office.
“The efforts will focus on providing a highly visible law enforcement presence to deter and prevent crime, with focus on targeting firearm and narcotics offenses and expanding the investigative capacity,” the release states. “State law enforcement will also promote flexibility for the Baltimore Police Department to more easily move resources around the city as needed, allowing local authorities to focus on the priority operations that they conduct best.”
There is no timeline yet for when the police surge will start.
