buzoncrime

Crimes in North Baltimore

2008-08-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

Buz has learned that an employee of Eddie's Supermarket (works in Bakery) was coming home after work on Monday night, August 11th when she stopped for the light at southbound Roland at Coldspring. Two young dudes came out of the bushes near the Women's Club, one armed with a gun, and pulled her out of her car, hitting her in the face with the gun. Fortunately, an officer was waiting for the light across the way, saw it go down, and a short chase ensued. One of the suspects got away, with all of her property, purse, cell, etc. The other was caught. No other details immediately available.

A whole bunch of other crimes were reported in this week's messenger in North Baltimore, including a robbery of a guy who was followed into the Roland Springs development in the early morning hours. Wonder what the backstory is here? (If any)

Also, there were a number of second story burglaries, mostly in the early morning hours, wherein crooks used ladders or fire escapes. You-all can't assume that just because you're on the 2nd floor, you can't be broken into; it often decreases your risk, but isn't foolproof. Buz watched one guy climb the latticework outside the Hickory Heights apartments from ground level to the 2nd floor balcony in less than a minute. When he saw me looking at him, he said, "I live here". I then noticed another person came out of the apartment, looking ok, so I believed him.

An employee of Eddie's also told me about a customer who wanted to report his expensive bike stolen to two of Baltimore's finest. They went "uh, huh, ok". Finally, he said: "aren't you guys going to write anything down?" When he got an equivocating answer, he said: look, I need a police report for my insurance claim, ok? Then the notebook popped out. The Eddie's employee told your consultant that a "high ranking legal person"/customer also told him that a lot of stuff isn't getting reported. Buz wonders if anyone else has similar thoughts along these lines.

Observations of recent crime events

2008-07-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

~A dear friend who lives in Federal Hill reports that the huge police presence in the area after the two homicides has all but disappeared. She hopes that the cops are still around after dark to patrol the park (that rhymes!).

~She and her husband told Buz that at the community meeting held right after the wild shooting spree that the Association Prez held tight reins on the meeting and people could only ask questions of the Boys in Blue-not vent frustration. The brass were being real coy and bureaucratic and noncommittal.

~However, a couple nights later, the Commish came back to a second meeting and was forthright and upfront and down-to-earth: after reports of shots fired during the second murder, they should have gotten out of their car and looked around, especially since one caller was very specific as to where he heard it. (The body was not found till the next morning by the Bodymore, Murdaland jogging body-finding patrol.); and the Commish said that many Southern District units had often (I guess on busy weekend bar-fighting nights) been pulled away to the Inner Harbor/Downtown areas to assist because those po-leece "weren't doing their jobs". Apparently, the people with too much fire-water in them don't "choose civility."

~Your consultant has further learned that the shooter in the first FED Hill murder on Battery Avenue was a white guy. Who woulda thunk!? (poor dumb Buz hadn't heard that one before-and he tries to follow this stuff.) Hmmmmmm. Whaddaya think ? Brooklyn? Pigtown? (Nah, Carol says nobody over there is violent). Oh, I know, maybe he came from the County.

~Both of these murders remain unsolved at this time.

~ Buz read about the death of the Baltimore woman DJ, the creator (?) of the Bmore sound. And though he saw that the death was ruled accidental, ya had to wonder why anyone would dive into their own shallow pool, knowing its depth. And at a party. Your consultant wishes that in all cases like this the blood alcohol level and the presence of illegal drugs would routinely be reported by the medical examiner. Remember the biker policeman who got killed by the on-duty officer at a strip joint? We never heard his blood alchohol level, either. Now, of course, this being Bmore, nobody at parties drinks, smokes weed or does coke. And of course, we know that off-duty police never get drunk, or do any of that other stuff. But Buz just wonders, you know?

~Speaking of the Bmore sound (of course, Buz doesn't do the club scene), I read that it has extremely vulgar lyrics, to the point that even stores that sell this sound, don't play it till late at night (so children don't get to hear it). And it is "in your face" music. And the pictures shown of the DJ gal seemed like she was pretty tough and mean, perhaps ready to fight. Now, I realize that art sometimes imitates reality, and sometimes reality impinges on art, but I wonder to what extent art helps make the reality. (The Wire?!) In this case, plenty of young Baltimoreans are extremely vulgar, and "in your face". Buz wonders how many of them get shot, because they get in the face of the wrong people? And extremely vulgar conduct can sometimes get you arrested, banked, shot, stabbed, or not even considered for a job. And Buz wonders how many high school girls emulate fighting looks-- and how many fights among girls have broken out because of glaring at each other--or is the DJ just reporting on what is? (Like David Simon says he does?) Buz just wonders, you know? Sheesh. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone chose "civility".

~Buz asked the African American custodian at his gym some questions about the club scene. He reported that he works two full-time jobs, and doesn't go to clubs; no sensible person that he knows does, because of the ever-present potential for "shit" to happen.

~Your consultant spoke to one of the many Puerto Rican officers Baltimore recruited to come work here because Baltimore has found it extremely difficult to find people to pass the rigid recruitment standards from its Baltimoron labor force, despite I am so wise's idea of great pay. (Baltimore pays far less than surrounding areas with much worse working conditions and much less community respect and support). This officer seemed extremely intelligent, spoke better English than I did, was friendly, decent, and respectful.

~And an hour later, the bank we were standing in front of on Roland Avenue was the scene of an armed stickup; bank employee heard the victim's screams and got the tag number of the miscreant vehicle. Another Puerto Rican officer, assigned to the Northern, observed and stopped the car at Park Heights and Cold Spring, and effected the arrest.

Recent observations on crime and security, mostly Baltmore area

2008-07-19T12:06:00.000-07:00

~Buz went to Towson Town Center yesterday afternoon, and notice that 4 Baltimore County Police officers were there on duty for the shopping center. All were posted on an upstairs centrally-located position where the center court could be observed. When questioned, one of the officers said that often on Fridays, at closing time 4 officers are needed to supplement the security force. You know, we get a lot of gangs here around closing time. Come on over then; you'll see. Buz declined. {Gosh, I wish we could find some economic development use of all our gangs around here. Maybe, like a private security force, like Blackwater; or maybe a new religion, or maybe a new reality game show.}

~Buz wondered how that suit against the operators of that mall by the family St. Paul's Schools administrator killed there is going: like, what's its status, or has it been settled.

~Interesting that many of the merchants in cross keys are complaining that they don't get a lot of drive-through or walk-through traffic to their stores. Well, you're located in a gated community; most of the stores cannot be seen from Falls Road. Life's full of trade-offs, one of which is often security and accessibility.

~One of my colleagues from Syracuse University on a college security list serve is taking a survey of schools to find of other large schools to find out: a. if they have any or full desk coverage at the entrance to dorms. b. If yes, do student cover the door security, or is it paid professional staff. c. do schools use cameras in residence halls. d. are the doors set up so that only one person at a time can go in. I wonder if any readers can share experiences with these questions at their schools.

~~JHU's web security tips says: (paraphrasing) stay away from groups of older juveniles on the street who you are not familiar with. Take measures to avoid them if you feel suspicious or threatened. Good idea; wonder why it's necessary?

~Getting back to Syracuse, it must be even worse: they recommend walking or jogging or biking in groups of three or more. And don't approach strangers or let them get close to you. Oh, well, guess when next time I'm in Syracuse, I won't ask an Orangeman for directions. The three of them might jump me.

The Sun's article on expungement

2008-07-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

"The past is never dead. It's not even past." ---William Faulkner

Buz read with interest the Sun's story on expungement, and the mention of it by mjb on Baltimore crime blog. Some semi-idiotic ramblings:

For many years in Bmore, when you got arrested on a minor charge, you were held in the police station lockup overnight, and your trial was held the next morning. To be honest, there weren't a heck of a lot of arrests for "humbles", unless that person needed to be arrested and police authority needed to be asserted. In any case, you got your day in court the next morning, and, yes, the Assistant State's Attorney nolle-prossed or stetted plenty of cases. And the judge gave PBJ to plenty of people. The person at least spent overnight in the lockup. I often approached the job with a sort of Zen-like philosophy that I wasn't too worried what happened in court: I made peace with the idea that getting arrested was the most they were going to get, unless............So Buz kinda got it in his mind that the conduct leading to the original arrest was "abated by arrest".
Along came the Police Commissioner Frazier years and he was able to unload prisoner processing and holding to the state: Central Booking was created--supposedly improving "efficiency". Your court date was 30 days away, hanging over your head, and the new courtrooms for the now "newly" independent judges soon became circuses, overflowing with cases. The first waves of "Zebra" operations and the Violent Crime Task Force arrests soon brought the new Central Booking to its knees, holding far more prisoners that it was supposed to.
So, eventually, the idea, the notion of a trial (except for some felonies) went away. Go to any of the courthouses for District Court in the morning. The poor ASA has defendants and their lawyers lined up to "try" their case in less than 2 minutes, or discuss it or something. Judges can take a powder for a while. The first thing the ASA asks: 'who wants a postponement?' A long line ensue by his table. Next: "who wants a jury trial"? another long line. Who want to be given PBJ for a guilty plea?" (This is rarer, since they're offered abatement now.) [Or were]. And, finally, the cases that do go to trial are almost always agreed "statements of facts". Hardly ever does a real trial take place in district court.
So, the huge number of arrests continued thru the term of Police Commissioner Norris, who implemented New York style of policing in Baltimore. Central Booking and the courtrooms were becoming ever more chaotic. So, as a sort of bureaucratic response to an untenable situation, the ASAs assigned (sentenced) to Central Booking simply began reviewing cases and declaring them "abated by arrest." {See, the Electromagnetic Radiation emanating from Buz's brain somehow reached the brains of the ASAs, even though they were separated in time and space, often in years.} On a serious note, they were simply making a judgment that the crime was very minor, and it was not worth the effort to now require them to show up in court, go thru the whole process again, and end up with little or no punishment, and simply clog up the courthouses even more. (Of course, many would not show, leading to arrest warrants, and clogging up the system yet again.)
Buz always took this to be a dismissal of the charges by the state's attorney's office. They were not making, in this case, any judgement as to the legality of the arrest. They were simply saying: "case closed". The ASA is simply saying: ok, you were bad, minor charge, it's over, it was abated by the arrest. Though this may be unheard of anywhere else, it was a strange bureaucratic adjustment to a peculiarly Baltimore situation.
Of course, there was also some percentage of arrests in which it was determined that there was "no probable cause." Those were dismissed in the same way. So, the open question there is how many of all these humble arrests were for really no probable cause or the officers were too careless, lazy, or stupid to actually write something worthwhile. (After a while, they began expecting "abated by arrest", so why bother writing anything hard: the ASA was just going to through it out, anyway. So it became an ever-spiraling self-fulfilling expectation and result.) Or were the ASAs pressured to rigorously declare these to be no probable cause. I always thought no probable cause was a "bad arrest." So, I guess if there's anything illegal, this is where it's at. I just wish they'd never have used my term "abated by arrest". And of course, nobody then cared; no one was minding the store, the only thing that counted was that the arrests continue.
The other "abated by arrest" charges are, in my mind, simply short-circuiting the nolle prosse process of saving the city the time and money of not having these folks come to court.
Your consultant thinks that the vast majority of these arrests were legal. Look, all you gotta do is drive around town, especially in the evening, in many neighborhoods. People are littering with abandon--both little and big littering; drinking on the street, urinating, fighting, being disorderly; riding illegal dirt bikes and ATVs, gambling, drividng like crazy people, etc., etc., etc. Any dummy can get a humble arrest every day. Ya don't have make anything up. And this doesn't even count open drug-dealing and smoking.
So now, we have Joe or Jane the miscreant, who gets locked up for something "minor", and now is shown the door at Central Booking and never has to come to court. They were told that either their case was abated by arrest or had no probable cause. So they left with the feeling that: a.) they didn't do anything wrong; b.) the police were picking on them because..........c.) they were the victim of this evil system because "they" were out to get their poor selves and d.) there's nothing wrong with what they were doing and e.) let's go do it again and you know, these square, chump, punk law-abiders are pretty easy to get over on. And the law is weak, not as smart and tough as me; plus now I got my street cred; I got locked up by the man. No, I am the man. (There is only a bit of irony here in the folks who changed the slogan from Believe to Behave.)
One can easily see the psycho-social leap that is made when a person feels impunity about committing little crimes evolves into committing bigger crimes--because they can. After all, the chumps (the evil system of us) won't do anything.
Buz read the expungement article and the poster guy, who's been in and out of jail for 15 years, and just shakes his dumb head. The expungements granted under the new law are nice: they will probably actually help a very small number of people. The truth of the matter is that for the vast majority of employers, the explanation that the State's Attorney dropped your charges would be good enough (assuming that's all you got). The people in and out of jail many times, though, have larger issues than their humble arrests--which if they have more than one are big red flags in and of themselves. They say: don't hire me; I love street stuff; and I can't learn; lets go be tough and hang on the corner; we can do whatever we want; we know how to get over; rules are for those stupid nerds; those nuisance laws are really a nuisance; I should be able to do whatever I feel like.
Buz sees very few people in his vocational coaching work even convicted of these nuisance laws. They usually nolle prossed. Open container, urinating, and related offenses often are an indication of substance abuse and alcohol issues. Same with possession charges. However, plenty of people can get jobs with these issues, if they deal with their problems sincerely and actually work at it. If you keep doing nuisance crimes, at some point, you are, in fact, a nuisance--no matter what the case results say--to yourself, your family, and the rest of us.
The real problems are with guys (and some gals) who have convictions, often more than one, for assault: employers run the other way. And forget robbery, theft, and burglary convictions. Expungement really is a non-issue for them.

Crime/Security "discoveries" for the week

2008-06-28T07:53:00.000-07:00

Buz realized that there was a whole of crime and security stuff going on in Bmore this week, but he has learned a couple of things and thought about some more things:

I ran into a robbery detective and asked about the investigation of the holdup of the Wine Underground a few weeks ago. He said he didn't know anything; that "Citywide Robbery" unit was handling it. Oh, well, like, don't they tell you anything? Nope. Your consultant was not comforted to learn that the citywide robbery detectives don't ask anything of or tell anything to the district robbery detectives. Buz has never liked this strange breakdown of authority, wherein the detectives are physically housed in district station houses but report to bosses downtown--not to the district commander, who is allegedly responsible for crime in his/her (I don't think there's any "her" district commanders) district. Now we find out that they aren't even talking to each other!
It looks like the State Prosecutor is trying to get Dixon on the same kind of stuff the feds got Norris on.
Buz has learned that a yoga studio was broken into in April. Since the initial report and smearing of fingerprint dust, there has been no followup by detectives. Your consultant wonders if there is a citywide unit which handles commercial burglaries and doesn't talk to the district unit which handles residential burglaries. I sometimes think that burglary is almost decriminalized in Baltimore anyway. If patrol officers don't catch 'em right away, they're probably not going to get caught.
Dirty little secret: patrol officers make the overwhelming number of arrests for serious crimes like burglary and robbery. Detectives do all the followup stuff. Hence, the resentment that patrol officers sometimes feel toward their plainclothes brethren.
Buz took a trip down to the Avenue early yesterday evening to Grano, the new pasta place (great place). The street was lined with thugs and junkies. One group looked like a scene from a George Romero movie. The other group, heavily muscled and thug-like, long white, dirty t-shirts, sweaty, and scary-looking were just hanging around. They weren't bothering anybody--but it was early yet, and they hadn't enough to drink. Both groups were blending in with the smokers of Zissimos bar. Both noticed the marked police car coming down 36th Street with 4 plainclothes "knockers" in it.
Now, we know the merchants were upset when police used poor discretion in moving smokers along after the new law was passed, and they complained to the District Commander, and he said that that was a tough officer assigned usually to Park Heights, and he didn't know how not to enforce the law around white people, so they moved him back to Park Height so he could be mean--or something like that. Well, Buz looked at this crew and thought: you know, they really can't be good for business hanging around like that. But: Hampden merchants: good luck getting the cops to move loiterers now.
Differential law enforcement? Hmmmmmmm.
Betcha here's why Federal Hill curfew wasn't being enforced: 5 years ago: Sir, the park is closed, you'll have to leave. "What! I pay a lot of taxes! You can't tell me what to do! I live here! What's your name! Who's your supervisor?" Later: Sergeant to Officer: what the fuck are you doing? Leave those rich people alone. Ain't you got nothing better to do? You go over west of Hanover Street and shake down some of those mf's with reefer.

Crime and Security in Baltimore: random thoughts

2008-06-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

A lot of crime and security stuff going on in good ole Baltimore:

Two people murdered in Federal Hill in two days. The neighbors are upset! One woman gave the reasons for concern as: this is the "high rent district", we have the Ritz and the new Silo condos, Jenna Bush, etc. In other words, this is unacceptable. Yes, it was a rough weekend in Fed Hill, but the community association Prez, Paul Robinson, kinda summed it up: they're just not immune to the problems occurring in other parts of the city, and the community needs to come together to support the city and the police.
Buz wonders if the thugs are engaging in some sense of eco-sensitivity by not driving all the way out to Leakin Park to drop off their dead. Or could it be the price of gas? Dirty little secret: Federal Hill is very close to high crime areas, Hanover Street is sort of the DMZ. One poster on Sunspot said heavy drug activity emanates from a Section 8 property at William and Warren. Dunno. I didn't see any last time I was in the area, but haven't been in the early morning hours for a while (barhopping is often past your consultant's bedtime at this time).
I'm sure these two cases are "Red Balls" on the board down at Homicide at 601.
Speaking of Homicide, there is an ad on Craigslist business jobs for the Commanding Officer Homicide Section, Baltimore Police. I am not making this up. It was posted June 9th. Perhaps one of my readers or Baltimore Crime readers or John Galt might apply.
Members of campus law enforcement officers have spent all this money on emergency notification systems since V-Tech, but are still puzzling over how and when and who decides to use them. They're great for warning the student body of impeding thunder storms!

The student who graduated alone

2008-06-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

Sheesh. The Sun's front page story about the Annapolis high School student who graduated alone--his classmates graduated without him--raised more questions in Buz's poor mind than the article answered. (from a security perspective of course):

Let's see if I got this right: a "threat" was received which caused school officials to not allow him to graduate with the rest of his class. Was this a reliable, actionable threat or anonymous, akin to a called-in bomb threat?

Were the officials being overly cautious?
Who's in charge here, "anyways"? The thugs or the government-like don't they have police downey there or something? (Of course, here in bmore, thugs can shoot at each other in a wild gunfight, two little kids get shot while swimming; we ain't got no police here, either anyways).
He practiced all season and played games with his football team? Buz guesses no threats were received there?! Probably went out after the games? Under heavy police guard?
Oh, and went to the senior prom, too! Buz guesses no threats, there! Wonder if he went to a pre-prom or after-prom party? In an armored truck under heavy police guard?
And mom said he made amends to the folks he had been fighting with. ok
And he even asked the judge for mercy on the kid that shot him. ok

So, we wonder what's all of that about. Is there more to this story? Buz is very glad that the nasty people threatening the young father of a 3-month-old don't threaten him for real important stuff like playing football and going to the prom. They only threaten his high school graduation. Buz is at least glad he finished high school, and hopes he doesn't get threated at his new trade school or new job.

Random, alternative, Iconoclastic thoughts on the Zach Sowers case

2008-06-15T11:53:00.000-07:00

Buz read with interest the articles about the Zach Sowers case and comments from the States Attorney's office spokesperson.

Some thoughts:

If I ever become a big shot with a fancy, schmancy office and lots of money and stuff, I don't think I'll hire Marty Burns to be my PR person.
I'm sure the comments made by Burns caused tremendous distress to Anna Sowers, and even your consultant found them distressing. Even if she really believed those things, she should have kept her mouth shut. What was the point? The reporter was asking her about Anna's proposed Zach's law. (We never did find out the official State's Attorney position on that, incidentally). Maybe Ms. Burns need to go back on her medication.
Your consultant wonders if Burns was verbalizing some thoughts going through the State's Attorney's office before and/or after the trial, or if she was reflecting the thoughts of her boss, her own thoughts or what.
It sounds more to this experienced cop like the possible arguments the defense attorneys might have thrown out in negotiations for the plea.
Sleeping like a baby? How would she know? Betcha , 3-1, Ms. Burns never went to the hospital and never actually saw Zach.
Comments like hers tend to make people want to leave the city, and wonder why they still live here. This is what the State's Attorney's spokesperson feels/thinks about murder victims and their spouses?!
At the risk of offending my dear readers, I must say that with the limited evidence the state had, both reading reports at the time and now, they got the best deal one could have hoped to get against the defendants. If Anna really wanted her blood to boil, she would have been granted that at a trial for these bums. The defense attorneys would have had a field day: making fools of the evidence and pointing fingers at each other's clients, and making the police, and lab technicians look foolish (whether they were or not); and perhaps helping their client invent some story about how he actually didn't do it and pointing the finger at someone else; one or more of the "flipped" co-defendants of Trayvon could have reneged on their deal or "forgot" crucial details previously agreed to, or said the police tricked or coerced them. The risks of going to trial were enormous--with a possibility one or more would have been acquitted and/or convicted of very minor charges. See the recent article when an attorney told the Sun "nobody flipped". Huh? I thought the other 3 plead guilty and had agreed to testify at trial against the main player-Trayvon Ramos.
We have some solace in knowing that very likely Ramos will serve about 30 of his 40 years sentence. In my work with "ex-offenders", it has been consistently the case that violent criminals serve about 75% of their sentences, before getting out on parole. So, he'll be 47 or so when he gets out, and unlikely to be able to get any kind of decent job or housing on his own. In addition, there will be more younger thugs out there ready to do him like he did Zach, since he'll no longer be so young and "tough", but probably as cowardly as ever. And it is quite likely he'll go back to prison within 3 years of his release (on average 53% do). He is also under a suspended sentence.
And the other thugs will serve about 6 out of their 8 year sentences. And they will all be on parole with suspended sentences. Buz feels a little sorry for the one kid who is in solitary 23 hours a day, when it became common knowledge that he was the one who first broke under police questioning. There's a good chance he'll be beaten or stabbed before he gets released, and may well be murdered after his release. (Of course, all of these guys are prime candidates for getting murdered in Baltimore). Buz feels less sorry, of course, because we know some or all of them were involved in a series of robberies both in the city and county east side. There were probably more than even the cops think, and probably some which weren't reported.
Don't know much about Jessamy; only saw her at community meetings a couple of times many years ago. However, I don't agree, and think it's unethical for anyone to post her home address--much as you disagree with anything about her. [Actually, I don't like the idea of the state putting everything, including your home address on the web anyway. There's plenty of nuts out there; we don't need to make it any easier for them to express their nuttiness].
Regardless of Jessamy herself, your consultant has found the vast overwhelming majority of prosecutors in her office to be dedicated public servants in a thankless job for a community that has a huge thankless component. Often the prosecutor has little to work with, as in the Sowers case. {Testimony of co-defendants is shaky ground on which to try a case, particularly in the city}. From what I read, both at the plea and recently, the state had a strong common-sense case and a strong circumstantial case, but with the wrong jury.................??? Who knows what might have happened? Would the defense have found someone to say they saw him "sleeping like a baby" or that his injuries were not consistent with stomping. Remember, it only takes one juror to be swayed by dumb arguments.
When prosecutors are going for a plea, they almost always discuss it with the victim and/or the victim's family, outlining reasons why, and the risks involved in going to trial. Usually, the family agrees. My understanding is that Anna did not agree. Unfortunately, crime is considered legally to be against the state. In this case, the prosecutors decided to ignore her wishes for a trial and proceeded with a plea bargain, "in the interest of public safety". Part of the bargain would be not to prosecute should Zach die; that's why they were able to get such "long" sentences. So an autopsy was irrelevant at this point; we don't know why Burns is even bringing that up--except, perhaps, to "prove" somehow that the defense attorneys might or might not have been right about the stomping not having occurred? Sheesh. Even if he was just tripped and sustained those injuries, by say, hitting his head on a car bumper, so what. The injuries were caused by the robber-thugs. (Buz doesn't really believe the others just, like, stood around and didn't do anything.)
In any event, Burns needs to get fired, and get the Douche-bag of the Year award for stupid press comments.

Alarm Sales in the neighborhood.

2008-06-08T13:59:00.000-07:00

Both Friday and Saturday, just past, saw the Medfield neighborhood inundated with crews of door-to-door alarm selling guys. Buz thought they were an alarm cult. They all wore fancy white Polo shirts with the words "Pinnacle Security" on them, though some shirts said other things, in addition, like "GE", leading you to believe that they were worked for General Electric.

Now, since Buz used to sell things door-to-door when he was in high school (a couple of years ago!), he has great compassion for people trying to sell stuff that way.

However, these folks raised all sorts of red flags in your consultant's poor pea brain.

After listening to the guy's good pitch a moment [punctuated by lovely pictures of a mom with babies], I was alerted to the fact that "free" had been mentioned several times. They would install an alarm system in-my house for free! Just for putting a sign in my yard! Huh!? Since when is anything that valuable free? He implied it was an offer only for the first three houses in the block or neighborhood (or something), so they could then use us to market to others.

When I asked for his card or brochure, I was bluntly told: we don't have any; we don't work like that. Oh. In other words, one must say yes or no right now. I said no. That was on Friday. {I think that counts as 3 red flags right there!}

On Saturday, another salesman came to the door, to proudly state that several of my neighbors had bought alarms "for free". When I derided this, ands asked him if he were working for free, he said well, the equipment is free. You just pay for the monitoring. Ok, how much is the monitoring. "About 30-something a month". "And you're a very smart guy for saying nothing is free".

Buz later learned that the wireless system installed "for free" for one of my neighbors was in return for a THREE YEAR MONITORING CONTRACT AT $46.99/MONTH! Buz does not think it is wise to lock yourself in that long a contract, nor does he think that price is competitive.

I wonder what others think, and what they pay for their alarms, and what happens if they have to end their contract.

Buz also learned thru searching that there is a site for rating alarm companies, alarmsystemsreview.com. He is unsure what to make of it at this time. But Pinnacle and several companies there had very negative reviews for hard sell tactics and poor service.

Let me know what you think!

Riot in Fells Point!?

2008-06-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

I just got this email from a tourist to our town who was visiting from Rhode Island for the Red Sox series. I wonder if ppatin or any other readers out there have any knowledge of this event in Fells Point, and to what degree this is normal behavior on warm spring/summer weekends.

All thoughts welcome!
Here's what she sent: (As Dave Barry might say, I am not making this up)

"Thank you in advance for reading this Buzz.......man I have, I guess, a strange question for you. Found you on your website in my googling.

I am from Rhode Island. My boyfriend took me to Baltimore this past weekend to see the Red Sox play (awesome games I might add). we stayed at the Admiral Fell Inn at Fells Point. Neither of us had a clue about the high crime rate until we were immersed in it.

Something terrible happened right outside our hotel in the middle of the night - Sat 5/31 - Sun 6/1 - about 2AM.......on the corner of Thames and Broadway. I am totally perplexed because every attempt to find out exactly what happened has turned up nothing - getting obsessed here. I am wondering if it is because it was unsubstantial in the big crime scheme there, or if it is covered up, etc.

I have been to the Baltimore Sun, police blogs, etc - - NOTHING.

It involved MANY people (maybe 100??), SO MANY police - someone (or someoneS) were badly hurt - people there were horrified, even the people who were involved which seemed to be a crowd that was not immune to this type of violence. It as frightening - awakned to screaming and then yelling which lasted forever, it seemed......nearly a riot - at least 50 people fighting in the street (seperate small fights which the police didn't seem to be doing to much about, though their bilyclubs were out and ready throughout!)......went on for quite some time. Hotel guy the next morning just said it was a fight, maybe gangs, and that there was "a lot of blood'. then, nothing.

The problem is this - I am not seeking info out of morbid curiosity. But I need closure from it - it was all so surreal lthat night.....and then I came home on Sunday night and can barely sleep. I am panicky all of a sudden, obviously more traumatized by it than I thought. I never witnessed anything like it. My boyfriend was freaked also. We were actually worried they would try to overtake the hotel!!

How can somethng so awful be unreported to the public????

Can I have information related to it so i can close it out and put it to rest???"

Lisa in Little Rhody

"PS) wonderng if my instincts are on.........I was scared with goosebumps whenever we were on Pratt St.....just terrible vibes there. Am I making sense??"

Be careful who you hire!

2008-06-03T07:51:00.000-07:00

Businesses in Baltimore are cautioned about hiring people who recently worked for the city. The word on the street now is that the "city will hire anyone". Buz knows that that has been true for a while, except for certain positions, such as police and fire. Recent incidents of employees of the city participating in misconduct while working have once again raised the issue of the degree of managerial oversight and discipline exercised over the city work force.

We agree that people in the city need jobs, but don't go abusing your job, violating the public trust, and join the group of people out of work because you can't control yourself. And then whining you can't find a job!

Some of these schemes make you ask the question: is anyone minding the store?

One supervisor from Loch Raven reservoir used a city vehicle to assist in the robbery of a person in East Baltimore--while he was working. Good luck on getting your next job!
A big scheme was going on at the city salt dome on Falls Road that had employees and the security guard involved in offloading stolen water onto private owned vehicles. Hope they all have lots of water to drink at their next jobs! Wonder which security company the guard worked for!?
And apparently city-worker-criminals are still using city vehicles to go out and buy drugs. The police recently arrested a worker from the city's yard at Pulaski Highway who was observed in a group buy-in. Hope he has luck finding his next job!

Funny, this stuff has been going on for years. When Buz worked in one of the city's districts, our drug squad often used an ex-city vehicle for surveillance and buys. Best cover ever!

The city treats it, as councilman Jack Young says, "a health problem". And well it may be. The city usually gives them one chance in rehab, then fires them.

But if you're running a business for profit nowadays, you can't afford to do handholding. You have to look out for YOUR business. Let them get their treatment, but don't you take the risks.

So, if you are one of the nowadays few employers needing to hire new employees, some little tidbits of advice:

Do a criminal background check on all new hires. See if they were honest on their application. It's well worth the money. And you can get a lot of info on Baltimorons for free nowadays. Decide on a case by case basis. There are a few adults who want to change their lives and become good citizens and workers; look for evidence to support that.
Do a drug test before hire. Now, I don't know what you all think about marijuana use, but you should certainly consider that a lot of applicants are smoking weed in many cases. You have to weigh that in the totality of other factors with the applicant. I don't want to have any employee driving my vehicle or train, or on a ladder, though, who tests positive for mj. The general rule of thumb for any other illegal drugs: if they're actively using, they're probably not going to do a good job for you for very long (of course, there's always exceptions). And they're likely to steal from you to assist with their true love's cost, whether booze, coke, or heroin.
Do a driving record check, even if they say they don't drive. It's good if you don't find anything. If you find a record, you might be surprised what's there. (DWI's perhaps?!)
Ask: "Why did you leave your last job?" Have your BS detector activated. Remember, most government jobs are civil service; be especially cautious if the person left for reasons which seem odd before they retired.

Good luck! This list is not all-inclusive. Your hiring needs to be attuned to your industry and your workforce needs.

Get out of my face!

2008-06-01T07:51:00.000-07:00

Buz read with interest Dan Rodricks column today on the travails of an idealistic young man who tried to teach in the Baltimore City Public Schools. To use a sports metaphor, their bench was deeper than his. It seems that the first order of business in teaching kids is "classroom management"--which Buz used to think was a B.S. course. I mean like kids will do kids stuff. But some of the things that column mentioned mirrored Buz's attempt to teach high school kids a couple of classes at Walbrook--allegedly a "magnet" school back then. The class would not stop talking, or throwing things at each other.

Buz and an assistant could not control the classes for even 5 minutes: since what we had to say was not going to be on a test, and we were not their regular teachers, they were not interested. In the school, fights, running the halls, and fires were not uncommon.

The quote "get out of my face" says it all. Buz would never have dreamed to say it to one of my teachers in any of my schools. The kids who say that and throw things at the teacher and talk in class are actually preparing themselves for a life of the streets and the prisons. It's really sad: public education is there and available; a few misfits destroy it for all.

Perhaps the kids should have a smoking break so that they could smoke a couple of blunts and "relax": "it's hard out there". I guess so if you don't even have a high school education or GED.

I'm puzzled why the teacher blames himself, as opposed to the parents, or even the kids themselves, or the schools system. He wants teachers paid $100K a year; that's a good idea. But it sounds as though we would be getting highly-paid prison wardens--at least in some schools.

The Sun recently had an op-ed columnist who reported that the drop-out rates in the city for the Teach for America and Resident Teacher programs were about 85% after 2 years in the system. An MSTA official recently told your consultant that the rate at which new teachers had their contracts not renewed (fired) was about 50% in the city.

The point of all this is that this is where crime begins: the kids learn that they can do whatever they want, say whatever they want, and no one tells them that there are consequences. "Get out of my face" works on the corner, or basketball court, or in jail with other inmates--maybe. Don't try telling that to your new boss, the inquiring cop, or to the judge.

Random, alternative, Iconoclastic thoughts on the Federal Hill brawl

2008-05-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

Some thoughts on the "Federal Hill Melee"

Buz has assisted a number of young professionals who are relocating to Baltimore. The vast majority of them immediately say that they want to live in either Federal Hill, Canton, or Fells Point. Nope, don't wanna look anywhere else! A couple even said they want to be near "the action". Translation: they want to be near lots of people just like themselves, and near lots of young people going to clubs and bars.
Buz is leery of the "anything goes" atmosphere which accompanies bar-closing time around these bar-intensive areas. Reason: he spent many an early morning near 2am policing the Fells Point bar areas on Friday and Saturday nights (not to mention some other nights, too). If you go to that well often enough, bad things can happen.
Now, there's nothing in Buz which praises or forgives stabbing people (and potentially almost killing them), but he is just pointing out that this is the nature of the beast. One has to be a tad judicious in living and frequenting these areas. And, in recent years, clubbing has only seemed to get worse and more risky in Baltimore.
I read the shrill email account of the attack, (all those blanks and blanks and blanks made Buz's head hurt), and I did get the same sense that the police were holding to in the Sun report: there was a dispute. This is not to blame the victims, but there was a holier-than-thou/we are innocently attacked tone to the whole message.
A typical bar closing scene: WWWWhoooooooooooo;! Screaming at the top of your lungs in the middle of the street! (the mating cry of the Young Urban Professional male, who has imbibed past inhibition stage). Hollering, screaming, by the hundreds; peeing on steps; lots of fighting! It's wild! And it's Preakness night! The Infield continues!! Anything goes. Wooooooooooooo! Whoops, I just vomited on that lady's steps! F her! F the police.
Newsflash to Young Urban Professionals: the old native Baltimorons don't like you taking over their neighborhoods--and some of them are nasty dirtballs. Don't you all know the neighborhoods after dark belong to the thugs? Are you trying to be better thugs than they are? Call them the Have-no-Blackberry crowd hating and resenting the Blackberry crowds.
Buz drove through Federal Hill late on weekend night not too long ago, and was amazed, though not surprised, about the huge crowds taking over the streets, and the yelling and playing in the street. In some posts on other forums Buz has read that people were upset about the lack of protection. For you or from you? Buz has talked to a number of homeowners and business people who want the imbibers protected from thugs, but also want themselves protected from the imbibers. It's hard to have it both ways.
Buz was amazed that Detective Bailey, the lead investigator in the case, asked for any witnesses "who may have been sober" to contact him. Wow! I have never heard such a public statement about drinking witnesses from a police official before. I wonder if he was able to say it without a trace of sarcasm or irony in his voice.
Police have not been able to find this MTA bus that was involved in the accident.
Now, Buz was not there that night, nor has he read any of the police reports, nor has he talked to any of the victims. But he has spent many nights closing down bars--sometimes even off duty, as Buz likes a cool, refreshing, beverage every now and then. At other times, we were on duty and conducting crowd control. Buz has observed that the crowd is in a significantly different mood at 2am, and opposed, to say, 11pm. And significantly more mouthy. Buz sometimes told his shift at roll call, 1130pm before going on the street on Friday or Saturday nights: there's no point in arguing with drunks. Tell them no more than 3 times what you want them to do. If they still don't, there's no point in continuing discussion: either lock them up or walk away.
"Sir, can you move along, there's been some trouble, here and we need you to go to your car" reply: "You can't tell me what to do! It's a free country! Woooooooooooooo!!"
"Get out of the street!" reply: "you can't catch me!"
"F this, F that"!
My guess that the Southern District midnite shift was a little overwhelmed, and that their extra units had been detailed to the Preakness events and were not available. Or they could have just been busy with fights all over the place; it sounds like there were so many, even traffic couldn't get thru. Allegedly, even the nasties' car couldn't get through. Of course, police overtime might have been cut back--and there went the extra crowd control troops.
When I was in Southeastern, we always did out best to have extra cops on hand after Preakness, 'cause a lot ot the party goers would come down to Fells Point afterward.
And Buz is amused that the Young Urban Professionals believe that there is some kind of conspiratorial coverup going on because it wasn't reported. Newsflash: the reporters need days off too; crime happening late Saturday night into Sunday morning is often not reported. Especially on Preakness night. And there are fights and stabbings all over the city, including Fells Point, Canton, and, of course, Fed Hill. Most are not reported in the press.
Buz is glad that Ms. Ashley Zion is now in a place where, if she likes to fight, there are probably a lot of other women there who can accommodate her. She so far has skated on all her previous assault arrests (several), probably because the complainants didn't show up. What set her and her friends off? Your consultant believes: she feels she was "disrespected" by the victims' group somehow (whether she was or not), she was probably legally drunk, she thought the yelling for her to stop was a form of snitching, and betch, 2-1, she was coked up--a symptom of which in uncontrolled anger and hotheadedness. By the way, did anybody see that she has a judgment against her by her past bail bondsman: Big Girlz Bail Bonds. Well, maybe it's just as well she is on "no bail" for her current charges. And hoopefully with all those charges on her, she just might do a little snitching herself to save herself.

I know that most peojple who go to the bar/club scene are just out to have a good time, but sometimes it gets out of hand; part of the action.

So a couple of tips for safer barhopping in Fells Point, Canton, Federal Hill and other party spots: [No tips available for Preakness infield; if you go, may God have mercy on your soul!]

Not much good happens after midnight. The later you stay, the higher your risks.
Try to leave to head for home at 1 am--no later. This policy will be your best bet.
Know and expect that things will be wild between 1:30 and 2:30am; thus, don't expect police to be around or to protect you, or come quickly.
Keep your mouth shut; unless a comment is absolutely friendly, don't say anything to baltimorons you don't know. Accidents, fights, other sorts of bullcrap: just ignore it and get out of the way.
Try not to hang at places which cater to thugs. If you feel afraid at times, you don't belong there.
Remember, many Baltimorons without Blackberrys also have little brains, but often carry weapons and a need for respect. To the extent possible, be nice to them: survive and prevent harm.

Security Tip of the Day

2008-05-20T17:58:00.000-07:00

Buz recently went into a business in North Baltimore and saw the clerk, behind "bullet-resistant" glass counting a huge wad of money. Now, Buz is reasonably honest, and was not tempted. However, if I was a dirtball with evil intentions, I'd notice that the door in the biz leading to that lady was unlocked and in fact open when staff were going in and out. Now, the staff were all "tough guys", but if the temptation was great enough.............

So, retailers everywhere: don't have your staff count the day's receipts in plain view of the public. Ideally, the money should be counted in a locked room and safely prepared either for a bank deposit or placed in the safe til the morning. Don't give people ideas.

Along the same line, don't proudly parade your fancy, schmancy bank bag with the big zipper in front of God and everybody while you walk to the bank. Buz sees many people do this; you can probably do this for years, depending on your location, without anything happening. But why tempt fate?

For you non-business folks, don't carry a big wad for the same reasons. I know, it's too much moolah to carry around in your wallet, and you're tough, you played lacrosse and all, and you're big, and maybe there's a lot of 1's. Who knows? Don't show off your wad. I saw a guy in the Evergreen the other day with a wad of green stuff which would choke a horse. Buz's eyes lit up, but he wasn't tempted. Other people might be.

A Drive home at night thru Baltimore in Search of a Snack

2008-05-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

Buz had finished up some work at a nonprofit in Northeast Baltimore and headed for home in Medfield, typically a 25-minute ride away. However, he had worked straight through the evening and had not had anything to eat. So, he wandered home in search of a place to grab a quick bite. However, the ever-present threat of crime snarled him and made him reflect on the extent to which crime in Baltimore affects our economic behavior.

And the extent to which our city is hyper-segregated, to a large degree, by race, class, socioeconomics, and perceived safety. (Not to mention real safety).

He first drove west on Belvedere Avenue and got to York Road. The closed Taste restaurant was on his right. I speculate that one of the reasons Taste restaurant closed (besides its high prices) was its location: I've often noticed groups of young, tough-looking guys walking around the area in the night on my way home from the nonprofit. I just couldn't imagine people with a lot of money, parking their car in the area, and sitting outside by York Road, and peacefully eating without being worried a bit.

The consultant turned south on York Road and considered the Wendy in the heart of Govans; however, the area felt dark and threatening, and he felt out of place [scaredy cat!]. He then continued south through the crowded area of the 5400 block of York--just north of Woodbourne. No stopping here. He then looked at at he McDonald's and the Popeye's down by Winston Avenue. There were crowds lined up in both places, but it felt isolated and unsafe. Buz felt he would stand out too much to go in to either [fraidy cat!].

Still hungry, he turned west onto Coldspring and pulled up at the Royal Farm Store; it was well after 9pm, approaching 9:30. The staff took forever to get his order. Several big, tough-looking guys came in, one with his pants way down on his buttocks exposing most of the rear of his boxer shorts. They all gathered in the back of the store; Buz recalled that this store had been held up numerous times; he felt he had to pay quickly and get out of there before a holdup went down; he didn' t feel safe.

Buz gulped his hot dogs down on his way home. He never used to be so chickenshit, but realized intuitively how much he stood out: white male, 50-something, with polo shirt and khakis: victim with money. Though Buz is 6 feet and 215 lbs., he doesn't feel able to fight off a determined fit robber or two, though, and wonders about this concealed carry stuff. Would he have stopped in the Wendy's if he was packin' heat?

Is ppatin really right? Buz has to believe that, though crime is "down" (from very high levels) the perception of crime is high and the perception of citizen safety is not very high. He has to believe that fast food restaurants and other businesses would do much better business if they felt safe for hungry guys like me. (And for hungry gals too).

The consultant notes that on this little typical drive home, he never saw a single police patrol of any kind. Many years ago, one of the officers who worked for me, and came from a background of many residences in a military family, remarked what a heavy police presence Baltimore had for such a large city. Sadly, that is long gone: the cops are all "somewhere", "busy", or detailed to specialized units or our Vietnam-like crime areas.

I was wondering what others think.

Marian House correction!

2008-05-15T10:40:00.000-07:00

Sheesh! Buz made an error and got his hand slapped with a ruler! Back in a bunch of postings in April, he made the comment that the woman who plead guilty for having her daughter die of methadone should go to Marian House. Then he said that they wouldn't tell the ladies there about birth control.

I just got an email from the Executive Director of Marian House reporting that this Catholic Institution does indeed cover topics of unwanted pregnancy and birth control! Who woulda thunk!?

Your consultant stands corrected.

All joking aside, Marian House is an excellent resource for women coming from all sorts of disadvantaged backgrounds, who need "to get themselves together". Many come from prison, and addiction and poverty; Buz has referred several people there; however, most don't go.

I'm very curious about what exactly, however, is being taught--considering the church's longstanding positions of birth control and abortion.

But thanks for your correction and challenging my "assumptions".

Buz

veteran of 12 years of Catholic schools and disciplining by nuns and brothers

Thoughts on the shooting of Chosen Sons member Norman Stamp

2008-05-07T18:27:00.000-07:00

Buz thinks that the vast, overwhelming majority of current city police and ex and retired city police suffered in muted embarrassment a couple of weeks ago when long-time motorcycle cop Norman Stamp was shot and killed by an on-duty city officer just doing his job. On Sunspot and the police talk forum, there were many, many defenders of the dead officer, and said things like he was a mentor, a great guy, and he would never pull his gun on a cop, etc., etc. Well, if he didn't pull his gun, why did the officer shoot him?

Of course, if the exact same scenario happened with a "street punk", they would have said good job, and the punk deserved it, etc. Ya can't have it both ways, guys.

Mrs. Stamp has hired a private detective and a couple of lawyers to see about "the truth" and possibly suing the same department he served in for many years.

After seeing some of the bitter anti-police posts, this has riled up in talk forums, one can only conclude, that both the commish and mayor had to be a bit embarrassed to sit there and hear a biker guy say the on-duty cop was lying--to 15 seconds applause. This after the department detailed an honor guard and motorcycle escort for the funeral procession.

Only in Baltimore! Many people in Baltimore feel that the police department has long ago lost its moral authority. I was in a liquor store the other day, buying some refreshing beverage. There was a uniformed officer in the store discussing something heatedly with the owner. I couldn't hear what was being said, but the young clerk says to me: "I hate Baltimore Police. They're so nasty and hard to deal with".

Buz wants to assure readers that most cops just want to do their jobs, make some money for a good life, go to vacation in Ocean City, and go home at the end of the day. They don't carry brass knuckles and go around looking for good fights. Now Buz has been in the Haven Place many times when he was single, but not for about, oh, 15-20 years; as strip joints go, it's a pretty good one. When the Chosen Sons and their ilk, came in, though, it was time to finish the beer and head out. Those guys just gave off "trouble" vibes for anyone sober enough to sense it. And when I was headed out for a cold one, and saw their line of bikes outside the Haven, I just kept right on going. (The consultant says that's trouble avoidance.)

Here are some other thoughts based on a security/risk management/ litigation perspective:

Stamp was 65 years old, but wearing "biker" costume, very similar ot members of a motorcycle gang. He was celebrating with other "club" members at a strip joint. One member said to the paper: "Norm always like a good fight". The city attorneys would really like to depose that guy and summons him at a trial--along with any other Chosen Sons members that they could get their hands on.
Carrying brass knuckles is against the law. It's considered a "dangerous and deadly weapon". Any street thug patted down by an officer would be arrested with them. One poster on sunspot said that Norm always carried them as well as a claw--a device with a handcuff attached to a handle to cause "compliance". It was banned by the department many years ago.
Many years ago, all city police were instructed to call on-duty police if they observe trouble AS THEIR FIRST DUTY. They should only intervene if absolutely necessary, and then cooperate fully with the on-duty officers.
One detective told me that : "look, everybody knew that it was just a matter of time before someting bad happened with those guys hanging out at that bar".
Buz is sure that tunnel vision, a chaotic scene with a brawl going on, adrenalin flowing, and, of course, lots of alcohol caused Norm to not see or hear, or care about the officer ordering him to stop. (Wonder if the city is going to release the blood alcohol level of the deceased--or if they're waiting for the lawsuit). And of course, officers wear those midnite blue uniforms, which can be hard to see in the dark if you're not alert.
The private detective is probably going to do little more than regurgitate some police reports and interview one-sided witnesses. I doubt the "victim" or the on-duty police are going to be willing to be interviewed by him.
The two attorneys will find that there is no insurance (the city is self-insuring), and no quick out-of court settlement (see ya in court). The case against the officer who was on-duty and the city is a weak one at best. Bob Verderaime would have a field day with this case! And given how much city police are liked by city juries (sometimes), a city officer in a strip joint in biker attire suing the city will probably gain very little sympathy.
Mrs. Stamp might find better fodder for a lawsuit against the Haven Place for among other things: inadequate security, negligence in providing excessive drinks to customers, allowing and even encouraging folks in biker garb to frequent the place, etc. (A lot of bars don't allow "colors" or biker garb for security reasons). Of course, given the nature of the business, the owner probably liked them coming in, since they not only bought drinks, but provided his "bouncers" or "security" when they were there.
Alas, we think the poor officer who shot Stamp will probably be ostracized by his "colleagues" who worshipped Stamp. Buz thinks he'll probably be gone from the police force before the year is out.

So Buz just wants to say that he hopes that most people who are on the police force are pretty decent overall. Remember, Bmore is a tough place, so you gotta hire some tough people to go out and protect us. And the department tries to weed out nasties, but sometimes the work makes one a little hard. It does its best to discipline and regulate officer activity and use of force. And, of course, many like to ride motorcycles for fun, and don't go in for this other biker stuff.

Marc Steiner at Goucher

2008-04-25T17:28:00.000-07:00

Buz went to hear Marc Steiner speak at Goucher College last Wednesday. His topic was: the state of the city.

Marc emphasized the state of "hopelessness" of the black community today. Buz felt pretty hopeless by the end of the talk. He remarked that the streets of the Inner City are different now than they were when he was growing up. There used to be a certain amount of respect for old people, women, the church and police, now there is little to none.

He asserted that a "prison culture" has taken over the streets, with something like a 90% chance that a black male will end up eventually on parole or probation, or in jail.

Buz sees that in his everyday dealings with citizens and clients. The long white T-shirts and no belt with your pants hanging down is "prison": they only order one size of T-shirts (large), and they take your belt away. Plus there is the sexual component of prison life, with your pants hanging down below your belt. I wonder how many of the young people I see (and adults who still haven't grown up yet) wearing this garb realize where the ideas came from. And how many young guys showing off their butts for "fashion" realize what that signifies in a violent prison culture where normal sex and women aren't available.

buz thinks: The juvenile justice system often sends kids the message that there are no consequences (except for a few); thus, when they become adults and rack up 2 or 3 arrests, some with convictions, they arre shocked when they cannot get a real job. When they could get a real job, there are often surprised when the boss is displeased when they miss work, or are late, or start fooling around.

Marc said that some hip-hop and rap which idolizes violence and contempt for women (ho's), is a degradation which pulls America down. And more than 95% of that music is bought by white suburbanites.

Marc believes the solution to these problems is WORK: turnaround can only occur if families have stability through jobs. But he said the changes must be systemic, and he pointed out that many advances in this country occurred because government funding fueled them. He cited as examples the past building of canals, railroads, and highways, not to mention space flight and the New Deal programs.

Buz sees no large systemic improvements such as these on the way, and feels most of the blame lies on the silence of so-called "leaders", failing to follow Bill Cosby's call for some sense of parenting and responsibility.

Baltimore's a hotbed of crime news!

2008-04-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

Man, there's a lot going on with crime in Baltimore!

Buz was interested in some recent plea bargains in Baltimore's Court. In one a doctor driving drunk the wrong way on I83, crashed into a car and caused the death of one woman who died at the hospital and seriously injured another person, who has had several surgeries, and will probably never fully recover. The doctor whined and cried and said "I'm sorry". What BS. He's only sorry because he got caught. He'll only do a year in jail. Betcha: 7-1, he will not successfully complete his probation and go back to the juice, but he'll not go back to jail. And the judge said he could get his "conviction" erased!
The woman pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the methadone poisoning of her daughter and got a completely suspended jail sentence; the prosecutors went for this because they couldn't prove she actually gave her daughter the methadone. Then her lawyer gets out front in front of the cameras to say the poor thing didn't do it, and had to plead guilty to get some help. Well, duh, the lack of responsibility here is astounding. One of the things a judge reads to defendants when they plead guilty is: "you are pleading guilty, because you are in fact guilty". Betcha: 24-1, she won't get the help she needs, without the push of some actual jail time. (Many people sentenced to treatment stop coming to it.) Her lawyer would have better served her by having all but say a year of jail suspended, then after a few months taken her to Marian House, so she has an inpatient type of support system to help her break out of the miasma of ills in the Inner City. Of course, the good sisters at Marian House will not introduce her to birth control, though. But otherwise she would have what she needs there, along with a drug treatment regimen. Betcha 5-1 that she gets arrested again, but does not complete what a reasonable person would call a successful probation, and betcha 8-1, she still does not get violated. Betcha 3-1, she'll get pregnant again.
Buz notes that in the two above cited cases Baltimore prosecutors declined to take their chances with Baltimore juries, in the first case thinking the jurors might have felt the doctor did not cause her death because the family is suing the hospital for negligent treatment. Well, she would not have been in the hospital if the doctor hadn't slammed into her car. In the second case, the defense would have said one of her many boyfriends at the party might have given the baby the methadone--by mistake of course.
Buz heard Marc Steiner out at Goucher last night, and agrees with him on the sense of hopelessness which pervades the inner city now. And for young adults, especially, it's the thug culture of toughness and fighting and contempt for the rest of us. Marc stated that conditions for the black underclass are probably worse now than at any time since slavery. Dunno about that, but it is pretty bad.
Read the Sun article today about comments Judge David Young said at the sentencing for the bus beaters and one becomes overwhelmed with anger, contempt and hopelessness oneself.
A friend was driving back from Columbia the other day, and cut thru the West side and was driving along North Avenue, when she was shocked by the thugs driving All Terrain Vehicles all over the streets: "terrifying" in their intimidation of all others.

Crime and Security Update for Passover

2008-04-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

A friend called to say one of her co-workers in Anne Arundel county had her house broken into and a lot of stuff was taken. Burglars are active everywhere.
Buz learned that during the Friends school burglary, the alarms did work, but they were silent, so the dummies didn't get scared away from the oldest building on campus. The Facility Director, who lives on campus, arrived and saw the criminal's' flashlights inside. He called the local gendarmes, who were already responding (this is 3:30 in the morning, so some of them were awake). Apparently, about 8 Baltimore po-leece (this is Balamorese:) responded. They insisted, however, that they were going to wait for a k9 unit, before going in the building. Good move, guys, but if you're going to wait, ya gotta surround the building. The miscreants got away, and took a projector with them. Buz thinks they spotted the Director of Facilities and left right away, probably before the first officer arrived. These burglars don't like to work normal jobs, but they always plan their escape when they break into someone else's property. Their biggest concern is getting caught!
A lot of people on Baltimore Crime blog (Baltimorecrime.blogspot.com) really are into this concealed carry stuff. This is worth a whole blog post by itself, but I think the idea that somehow, on the street, you will shoot it out with street thugs is kinda ludicrous. You're more likely to shoot an unarmed street thug. Yuck for you. Remember, street thugs have nothing to lose; law-abiding citizens have everything to lose.
The nice neighborhoods of Bellemore Road and Poplar Hill continue to be victimized by burglars, sometimes losing a lot of stuff.
The Soundscape store on West Coldspring Lane was broken into by smashing the glass front door with a rock. Again, this was about 3:30 in the morning; betcha the alarm went off; betcha they didn't care; they got several pieces of electronics before the p0-leeces got there. Buz always wondered about that glass door (and doors of glass at other places too, with computers and such perfectly handy.)
Buz wonders if our blogger Carol Ott has witnessed Pigtown fighting Pratt Street yet this year. When I was a young officer on post in Pigtown, I saw this huge crowd of kids coming down Carey Street and over the railroad tracks. When I could get one of them to talk to me, she said oh, it's nothing, just Pigtown fighting Pratt Street: we do this every year. Oh. Buz wonders if this quaint practice is still going on each spring.
There will be a crime conference at Goucher this Thursday. Sanford Ungar, the President, will moderate. The panel will include Marci Brennan, creator of Baltimore crime blog, Judge John Prevas, a good, stand-up guy, a WYPR reporter, and Margaret Mead, one of Bmore's top defense attorneys.
There's a story about Baltimore in the Economist this week. Don't know if I agree with the writer's declaration that Baltimore has "a couple" of bad areas, but the rest of the city is nice. Yeah, Baltimore has a lot of nice areas, but more than a couple bad ones. And the picture of the officer with an M-16 was kinda weird and misleading. We don't, even here, have cops standing around with assault rifles. Clearly a high-profile bad guy was coming into the federal courthouse.

Crime Victim's Week

2008-04-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

Buz has learned that this past week was National Crime Victim's Week, and he didn't do anything about it. Yikes!

So, to make up for it, Buz, an Independent Security Consultant who is non-product-related, will offer crime victims answers to one little tidbit of a security question-free. Bloggers can comment and ask right here on my Blog or you can email me directly at jerry@buzoncrime.com. I'll do my best to answer crime and security-related questions with a "tidbit" of an answer to all you crime victims out there. (Sorry, I won't give away the store---a detailed analysis of your complex problem.)

Of course, there are hardly any crime victims out there, are there?

Crime and Security in Baltimore: random thoughts

2008-04-13T17:32:00.000-07:00

I just learned that the needle exchange program in Hampden has been quietly moved for lack of attendance. Well, gee, who woulda thunk? After some back and forth negotiations with the neighborhood honchos, the Health Department located the van in the 3800 block of Buena Vista Avenue. And nobody came. Guess what, guys? The Fraternal Order of Police offices are in the next block! And, you know, cops and junkies don't really mix very well. So, it's no surprise that the program ended.

It's not that there's no drug use in Hampden--there's plenty. You can see them all up and down Falls Road with glazed eyes and hanging out waiting for the stuff to get there or for a ride to where it's at.

The Health Department started the program because of the high number of emergency room visits for overdoses from Hampden.

Liquor store held up

2008-04-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

A liquor store in North Baltimore was held up a couple of weeks ago by an armed hoodlum. It happened just about dusk at 7pm. The thug sensed the two employees in the store were not cooperating, and were contemplating resistance with their attitudes. So the robber puts the gun on a woman customer, and they gave it up. This was their second armed robbery in less than a year. The earlier one, last summer, ended when a muscular employee tackled and pushed the robber out the door, and slammed him on the ground, causing the gun to go off. After a brief struggle, the thug broke free and escaped, pausing briefly to fire a shot at the employee. A citizen of the area saw this going down and followed the two miscreants to a car on Falls Road; he took down the tag number and returned to the store to give to the police. They were able to make two arrests that same day. One guy got 10 years, the other 5. Despite that, the store still got held up again.

Now, the security consultant sees several issues with the design of the store. One cannot look in and see the register very easily, and for the most part the inside of the store is isolated from outside view. Thus, the store lacks what security consultants call "natural surveillance". The big decision most criminals make is whether or not they're going to get caught. Natural surveillance makes them think twice. Buz to store owners in retail everywhere: increase your natural surveillance.

Crime and Security in Baltimore: random thoughts

2008-04-09T08:40:00.000-07:00

There's been soooooo much happening with crime and security stuff in Baltimore and elsewhere that it's' been hard to keep up!

A teacher's beating on a cell phone camera, which occurred in Reginald F. Lewis High School, is alarming and disturbing--but not entirely surprising at at all. Fighting is apparently an elective at many of the city's zoned high schools. Sheesh. Doesn't that young woman teacher know that? When she told the student to sit down, and she didn't, that was it: the teacher could have told her to leave (the girl probably wouldn't have) or just ignored her and kept on going with her lessons. I hate to say it, but the dumb principal was right in one respect: once you say you're "going to defend yourself", that's a trigger word to these street thugs who just wanna fight. By the way, why didn't the principal report the incident? Betcha, 6-1, because word has come down from Dr. Alonso that our "children" need to be in school, not suspended--and she didn't want her own lack of control in the building to be noticed. (Also, she was probably saving her suspensions for when she "really" needed them.) Besides, don't these city teachers know that fighting skills are important for them as well?
Buz has learned from an informed source that "hallwalkers" are really getting prevalent at Reginald F. Lewis, now that the weather has turned warm. Hallwalkers are "students" who check into the school, but don't go to some or any of their classes. They walk the halls of the building all day. Ok, sometimes they run when they see an Assistant Principal or School Police. It's very sad. I see the results every day when I work as a vocational coach at a nonprofit: folks who dropped out of high in order to participate in the fun of the halls, then the streets. They never go back for a GED, and then years later, they lament the fact that they can only get the very lowest level laborer jobs (or too often, no job at all). I spoke with one man who lamented that he was 40 years old, and was washing dishes at a local hospital and he felt awful about it. Well, he had no GED, several arrests, no real work history, and wondered why, perhaps, the hospital wasn't having him help with the surgery.
Your consultant tried to teach a couple of classes at Walbrook High School a few years ago, to the Criminal Justice students, no less. Neither I nor my Community Service Officer could control the class for even 5 minutes. The class would not stop talking or fooling around. We eventually gave up and showed them a movie. Because we were not their regular teacher, they felt they owed us no respect or attention: it wasn't going to be on the test.
Baltimore has several "elite" high schools, which require standards to get in and stay in: City, Poly, School for the Arts, Western, Carver and Mervo. If they did not exist, the entire school system would collapse and many middle class families would move out.
This teacher beating came on the tube the same day that the news broadcast a story about 8-10 kids attacking two others with lacrosse sticks (this is Baltimore, after all). It even showed the attackers running. (Not back into the school, though). And then it showed them running into a building where an adult came out and was showing and pointing a rifle (this is Baltimore, after all). Police said that part was unfounded. Huh? I guess he was just demonstrating his right to bear arms.
All of this means that if you are relocating to Baltimore, you must find out where the good schools are at the elementary/middle level and move to that area. For example, the Tuxedo Park and Roland Park areas are zoned for Roland Park Elementary and Middle Schools-which are good and have a high level of parent involvement. Otherwise, you must go the parochial or private school route.

The Sun's story on criminals who get murdered while not apprehended

2008-04-03T12:27:00.000-07:00

I am not sure I understand the implications of the Sun's story this morning about the thug who, though 18, had been committed to a juvenile facility in Pennsylvania, and was murdered after he walked away/escaped. The article seems to suggest that because the police did not arrest him quick enough, they were somehow responsible for his being murdered. The article also mentions a bunch of other juvies who were murdered while they violated home detention. Well, gee, they shoulda stayed home.

This particular car-jacking thug got away from the place in Pa. causing Buz to wonder:

How'd he get back to Baltimore? He sure as heck didn't walk down 83.
What's his girlfriend see in him anyway? Supposedly, she dropped him off at the place on Wilkens Avenue just before he got killed. Maybe he had a source for some good weed. On the other hand, she might have set him up.
He was supposedly afraid of being shot and killed since he was shot 3 times on a previous occasion. Well, gee, if he was so afraid, why didn't he stay up in Pa. till his juvie sentence was up. So much for learning from experience, I guess.
He got a call on his cell phone. How's he got the money for his cell phone, or do they issue them at the juvie place? Sounds like somebody is/was enabling him.
What's a carjacker doing in an insecure facility, anyway?

I just think the implication that the police didn't arrest him fast enough to keep him from getting killed is a little far fetched. You know, people make decisions, and sometimes those decisions have consequences. My guess is that he was heavily involved in the drug trade in Baltimore, much like our two recent kidnapping victims from Catonsville.

On one level I feel compassion for his since he was abandoned by his parents at an early age, and had the deck stacked against him. However, on another level, he was wily enough to arrange his escape, engage in carjacking before that, get and learn how to use a cellphone, and make enemies enough who wanted to kill him (and they did). If he had lived, he would have contributed mightily to those city's lousy crime rate.