Group rallies in downtown Baltimore to call on city to reduce police budget and invest more communities

BALTIMORE — Defund to refund: That was the message from group members at a rally outdoors of the Baltimore Metropolis Housing Division.

They’re calling on metropolis leaders to scale back the police funds and use the additional cash to spend money on communities.

“If we succeeded in decreasing crime, we wouldn’t proceed to have yr over yr will increase in homicide charge. We would not have yr over yr will increase in overdose deaths,” mentioned Jessi Ahart who’s an organizer with Communities United–the group that put the rally collectively.

MORE: Local group wants funding for Baltimore City Police moved to city schools

Ahart added, “town has what’s known as evidence-based funding, I wish to know what metrics they’re utilizing to proceed so as to add extra money to the police funds and fewer cash to different areas of the funds particularly, housing, hurt discount and colleges. These are the areas which can be actually hurting our communities.”

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Final yr, metropolis council handed a funds that allotted $555 million to the Baltimore metropolis police division. It was a rise of $28 million from the yr earlier than.

And with the proposed funds for this upcoming fiscal yr set to be launched subsequent month, group members on the rally say town ought to do extra to construct up the individuals of Baltimore and never the police.

Terrell Askew, who’s a member of two organizations known as United Staff and Baltimore Renters United, believes considered one of root causes of crime is poverty.

He mentioned you may’t count on police to be the one reply to the crime drawback.

“You must stabilize individuals first,” he mentioned. “You must assume an individual, let’s say they’re an adolescent, 15 [or] 16 , they weren’t born committing crimes. It was all of the little issues that they didn’t have entry to that impacted them that led to that second.”

Communities United additionally plans to rally subsequent month in April, which might be on the day the proposed funds is predicted to be launched.

The Mayor’s Workplace despatched us a press release in response to the rally:

“Mayor Brandon M. Scott has been and can proceed to make focused and extremely impactful investments into our communities whereas additionally ensuring that BPD is appropriately funded to meet its obligations per the Consent Decree.”