Van Hollen Presses Sessions on Funding to Address Violence in Baltimore
U.S. Senator Chris
Van Hollen is pressing Attorney General Jeff Sessions to support the City of
Baltimore’s efforts to address violent crime. In a letter sent on Wednesday,
Van Hollen urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to reconsider Baltimore’s
exclusion from the Public Safety Partnership (PSP) Program, which was created
last year to help cities address violent crime. The letter comes after Sessions
expressed an openness
to revisiting this issue in a hearing on April 25th with Senator Van
Hollen. The Senator also raised the issue this
week with the U.S. Attorney for Maryland, Robert Hur, at a meeting in the
Capitol with the Maryland congressional delegation. The City plans to apply for
support in June for the upcoming fiscal year.
In his letter, the Senator writes, “Last year, Baltimore City experienced its most violent
year on record. The Mayor and the City have launched an initiative to reduce
the violence and federal support could significantly strengthen their efforts.
I appreciate your efforts to coordinate support for communities through the
creation of the Public Safety Partnership Program, which aims to work with
local jurisdictions to identify and implement community-based, data-driven
methods of violence reduction.”
He continues,
“Unfortunately, Baltimore City was not included as an initial site for the PSP
program. A line of questioning in the August 2017 letter regarding immigrant
detention policies has led many to believe that DOJ was imposing additional
conditions related to the interaction between the Baltimore City Detention
Center and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. While I oppose the additional
immigration-related requirements that DOJ has imposed for receipt of PSP
support and Byrne-JAG funds, that is not the issue in the case of Baltimore
City. As I mentioned at the hearing, the correction and detention facilities in
Baltimore City are operated by the State of Maryland, not by the City nor the
Baltimore City Police Department.”
Senator Van Hollen closed stating, “I appreciate your commitment to reevaluate Baltimore’s
qualifications for inclusion in the Public Safety Partnership Program, which
provides intensive capacity building training and technical assistance. I also
hope to work with you to provide federal funding resources for other violence
reduction efforts in Baltimore, which should be centered on evidence-based
programs with cooperation from law enforcement, social service government
agencies, and non-profit service providers… I look forward to working with you
and your team to provide federal support to assist in Baltimore’s
community-driven violence reduction initiatives.”
The Public Safety Partnership Program provides a framework
for the DOJ to enhance its support of state, tribal, and local law enforcement
officers and prosecutors in the investigation, prosecution, and deterrence of
violent crime, especially crime related to gun violence, gangs, and drug trafficking.
It enables cities to consult with and receive coordinated training and
technical assistance and an array of resources from DOJ to enhance local
violence reduction strategies.
A
copy of the letter can be found here. The full text of the letter is below.
Dear Attorney General Sessions,
I am writing to follow up our discussion at the hearing of
the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee on April 25, 2018,
where you expressed your willingness to work with me to direct additional
resources and support to Baltimore City to address violent crime.
Last year,
Baltimore City experienced its most violent year on record. The Mayor and
the City have launched an initiative to reduce the violence and federal support
could significantly strengthen their efforts.
I appreciate
your efforts to coordinate support for communities through the creation of the
Public Safety Partnership Program, which aims to work with local jurisdictions
to identify and implement community-based, data-driven methods of violence
reduction. The Department of Justice’s (“DOJ”) August 2017 letter to
Baltimore City on the Public Safety Partnership Program correctly states that
“[the City] has levels of violence that exceed the national average, […] is
ready to receive the intensive assistance the Department is prepared to
provide, and […] is taking steps to reduce its violent crime.”
Unfortunately,
Baltimore City was not included as an initial site for the PSP program. A
line of questioning in the August 2017 letter regarding immigrant detention
policies has led many to believe that DOJ was imposing additional conditions
related to the interaction between the Baltimore City Detention Center and
Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
While I oppose
the additional immigration-related requirements that DOJ has imposed for
receipt of PSP support and Byrne-JAG funds, that is not the issue in the case
of Baltimore City. As I mentioned at the hearing, the correction and detention
facilities in Baltimore City are operated by the State of Maryland, not by the
City nor the Baltimore City Police Department. The City does not have the
authority to set immigration-related detention policies at those
facilities.
I appreciate
your commitment to reevaluate Baltimore’s qualifications for inclusion in the
Public Safety Partnership Program, which provides intensive capacity building
training and technical assistance. I also hope to work with you to provide
federal funding resources for other violence reduction efforts in Baltimore,
which should be centered on evidence-based programs with cooperation from law
enforcement, social service government agencies, and non-profit service
providers. Federal grant funding, from Byrne-JAG to Second Chance reentry
programs to youth mentoring, is critical to leverage state and local resources
and implement a comprehensive solution.
I look forward
to working with you and your team to provide federal support to assist in
Baltimore’s community-driven violence reduction initiatives.
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