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Greater Baltimore Committee
February 20, 2024
Gun Violence Reduction // Police Officer Recruitment & Retention Update
Welcome to the inaugural GBC public safety newsletter! You are receiving this because you recently opted to get updates on GBC’s gun violence reduction and police officer recruitment and retention efforts.
Having safe communities is vital to the overall quality of life in our city and region, and critical for achieving our true economic potential. As part of its multi-year agenda, GBC’s public safety focus areas are targeted at reducing gun violence and supporting Baltimore Police Department recruitment and retention efforts.
Reducing Gun Violence
Gun violence is a serious public safety issue in our community. While the city saw a combined 14% decrease in gun homicides (down 25%) and shootings (down 8%) in 2023, much work remains to be done to keep communities safe.
Introducing the Baltimore City Crime Dashboard
Using data from the BPD, GBC has produced a Baltimore City Crime Dashboard that includes annual and year-to-date crime data across a wide range of categories, including crime type, weapon involvement, location, and victim demographics.
This dashboard gives GBC partners an opportunity to view current Baltimore City public safety trends in an interactive way and will be refreshed weekly. In the coming months, GBC will be producing dashboards that include other data such as BPD arrests, court case outcomes, and various gun violence metrics.
GBC is working to collect crime data for all counties within the Baltimore Region, but this data is not as timely or collected in the same manner.
The importance of improved partnerships and collaboration
Federal, state, and city stakeholders have identified several factors that are contributing to historic reductions in gun violence, including improved partnerships and communication, better intelligence, and more robust community engagement. Through the work of the Reducing Gun Violence Steering Committee, GBC is assisting regional public safety partners and evidence-based programs with the resources and strategies needed to effectively make headway in continual gun violence reductions.
GBC is committed to deepening our partnership with agencies like BPD, the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office, the United States Attorney’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood, Safety, and Engagement and the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy on evidence-based gun violence reduction strategies.
A Special Engagement with Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan Bates
GBC will be having its second engagement with Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates on Wednesday February 21st to discuss opportunities for collaboration, and Partners are invited to attend. Register for event.
If you experience any difficulty registering for this event or are unsure as to your status as a current GBC Partner, email partner@gbc.org.
Police Officer Recruitment and Retention
The U.S. is facing a historic crisis when it comes to recruiting and retaining qualified police officers. Fewer people want to be police officers, more police officers are becoming eligible for retirement, and those that become police officers are not staying long-term. The Baltimore Police Department is facing numerous challenges recruiting and retaining officers – it has experienced a net loss of 100 officers each year over the last four years and is projected to be 600 officers below budget in 2024.
The work of the Police Recruitment and Retention Steering Committee
GBC held the first Police Officer Recruitment and Retention Steering Committee meeting on November 16th with Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley. The Baltimore Police Department is actively engaged in the work of the Committee, which has called on the business community to help BPD better recruit and retain staff.
Last month, GBC convened its second Steering Committee meeting in conjunction with the newly hired Bloomberg Innovation Team.
After much discussion and engagement with BPD staff, the Committee identified two areas in which we can best assist the department: (1) expanding pipeline development, with a special emphasis on police apprenticeship programs and (2) adopting strategies to streamline and enhance the hiring process at BPD to improve the overall candidate experience.
If you have any questions about our two public safety priority initiatives or any other public safety matters, please email me at jeffz@gbc.org
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Zuback
Senior Director of Policy & Research
Public Safety Data Officer
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