Mayor Rawlings-Blake Announces Success of Enhanced Police Gun Suppression Efforts
Baltimore reduces homicides to the lowest level in 25 years for the first half of 2010. Federal partnerships play key role in reducing gun violence.
Today, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake joined Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld, U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein and Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Acting Special Agent in Charge Joseph Riehl to report the outcome of recent gun suppression efforts and violent crime reduction in Baltimore. For the first half of 2010, Baltimore had just under 100 homicides, the lowest tally in 25 years. In June 2010 alone, Baltimore recorded the lowest number of shootings on record for the month of June. Overall gun crime—homicides, shootings, armed-robberies and carjacking—are also down 16% compared to the previous year.
Mayor Rawlings-Blake and Commissioner Bealefeld attribute the historic reductions to enhanced police gun suppression efforts, strong partnerships with federal law enforcement and increased prosecution of gun cases in federal court.
“The men and women of the Baltimore Police Department have done a tremendous job putting intense, sustained pressure on criminals using illegal guns,” Mayor Rawlings-Blake said. “As a result of their efforts, more than 1164 dangerous guns have been taken off the streets this year. In the past ten days alone, Baltimore police officers seized 76 illegal firearms—averaging more than seven guns a day.”
Commissioner Bealefeld said Baltimore Police have continued to enhance a multifaceted enforcement regime to reduce gun violence including, targeted gun suppression efforts in areas with high rates of violence; identification, investigation and prosecution of the most violent repeat offenders and increased monitoring of gun offenders through implementation of Baltimore’s Gun Registry. More than 425 gun offenders in Baltimore City are constantly monitored by patrol officers and detectives assigned to the Gun Task Force.
Mayor Rawlings-Blake thanked U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein for his leadership in increasing federal prosecution of gun cases as part of Baltimore Exile. “With more than 131 federal indictments so far this year, U.S. Attorney Rosenstein is on track to far surpass the number of prosecutions of gun cases in federal court where tough, mandatory penalties for gun crimes are the norm, not the exception.”
Mayor Rawlings-Blake noted that the success of federal prosecution in reducing gun violence highlights the need for stronger state laws that demand tougher penalties for illegal gun possession, “We cannot tolerate illegal guns in Baltimore and Maryland.”
The Mayor thanked the Baltimore Field Office of the Bureau of the ATF for working closely with the Baltimore Police in their efforts to take illegal guns off the streets. The ATF has assisted the City in investigations, taskforces, arrests, and building cases against violent gun offenders.
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