Transcript:
FOX Baltimore: This is Fox 45 Morning News. (0:13) Shootings and homicides are down in Baltimore City as Mayor Brandon Sky points to his holistic (0:17) approach in certain programs that he created or expanded as the reason why.
But daily carjacking (0:23) victims or muggings argue the city is not safe. Joining us now to discuss statistics versus (0:29) reality with the National Police Association, Sergeant Betsy Smith. Sergeant Smith, thank you (0:34) again for joining us.
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.): Good morning. Thanks for having me. Yes.
FOX Baltimore: Good morning. Another carjacking, (0:39) a citizen now calling out teens taking his work truck at gunpoint. Another man that we’ve been (0:44) playing his sound all morning long, saying that he was mugged by teens and is now partially blind (0:49) because of them because they keep getting released.
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.): Well, there’s lies, damn lies and (0:55) statistics, right? As the old saying goes. And here’s the thing. You can manipulate crime statistics.
(1:01) And we have seen that nationally. Forty seven percent of crimes don’t even get reported. (1:07) So when the mayor touts crime going down, first of all, remember, it was incredibly high in 2020 (1:13) and 2021.
And for example, juvenile crime, which you were talking about very often, if a juvenile (1:20) commits a felony that is declassified into a misdemeanor or sometimes not reported as a crime (1:29) at all. So consumers of statistics need to consume them properly. People’s lived reality (1:38) is really what’s important.
FOX Baltimore: And when we talk about this gun violence reduction strategies, (1:43) the GVRS program, his safe streets programs from the mayor versus fully staffing the police (1:48) department, the balance there, the mayor saying, no, we need to go this holistic approach. We need (1:54) to go down these other avenues. They’re going to be able to treat it and then you won’t have to fill (1:57) the police departments.
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.): Programs are always somewhat helpful, but you when you have twenty (2:04) five percent of your patrol officers are working overtime at any given time in Baltimore City. (2:11) That’s a problem. You’re six hundred police officers short in the city of Baltimore right now.
(2:16) The way to stop crime is to be proactive in your policing and then it’s to punish (2:23) the aberrant behavior. In other words, punish the criminals. So all of those inside programs, (2:29) they’re fantastic, but you need the right amount of police officers and you need police officers (2:34) who are able to do the job properly.
You don’t want them tired, exhausted, all of that. (2:40) Betsy, real quick, will police departments ever get back to being fully staffed with these numbers (2:45) that they’re showing now? That absolutely depends on the political leadership and the citizens as (2:52) well.
FOX Baltimore: Well, Sergeant Betsy Smith with the National Police Association, thank you so much for giving (2:57) us a few minutes of your time.
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.): Thanks for having me.