Scott, Hogan Meet On Crime As Senate Debates Public Safety Bills
ANNAPOLIS (WJZ) -- Mayor Brandon Scott and Gov. Larry Hogan each called their meeting Thursday at the State House "very productive."The two met to discuss violent crime in Baltimore. It comes after a violent January, where the city experienced 36 homicides."There's always, always agreement with us. We talked about the great work we're doing with the Baltimore Police Department with the Warrant Apprehension Task Force," Mayor Scott said following the meeting.The mayor's office said the two also talked about Parole and Probation notification requirements and BPD facility upgrades.
Hogan in his State of the State Address Wednesday slammed violent crime in the city while promoting the Violent Firearms Offender Act and Judicial Transparency Act, legislation he said would focus on violent repeat offenders who use guns and any potential shortcomings in the judicial process.
Mayor Scott and Gov. Hogan are meeting right now inside the statehouse to talk crime. Hogan remains critical of city leadership in light of continuing violent crime.
— Paul Gessler (@PaulGessler) February 3, 2022
In the State of the State address, Hogan urged the General Assembly to pass his two criminal justice bills. pic.twitter.com/MESIdBA6Or
"On the very first day of the new year, a 16- and a 17-year-old were gunned down in a triple shooting, becoming the first victims of 2022," Hogan said in his address. "Just last week, Cheryl McCormack, a 51-year-old grandmother who was working as a DoorDash driver, was gunned down during a robbery in northeast Baltimore, and Chelsey Patterson, the general manager of a popular restaurant in Little Italy, was fatally shot in Fells Point. It was the deadliest January in the city in nearly 50 years."
The governor said he and the mayor "had a very productive discussion on a number of fronts."
The meeting was hours after Maryland State Senate Democrats and Republicans hosted press conferences Thursday on their respective criminal justice legislative packages."Prevention. If that doesn't work, we must intervene. If that doesn't work, we have to hold people accountable and we have to rehabilitate them," Senate President Bill Ferguson said.Senate Democrats' plan centered primarily on "ghost guns". Attorney General Brian Frosh said Baltimore City is on pace to recover 700 "ghost guns" this year, which makes it harder for police to solve crimes."Even worse, it makes it easier for people get their hands on guns and commit more crimes," Frosh said. "It is now the gun of choice for criminals."Senate Republicans want to wait to see what any "ghost gun" bill looks like, but pushed instead for tougher penalties on repeat, violent offenders."The policies in here are very common sense and they specifically address the bloodshed we're seeing in the streets right now," Sen. Michael Hough of Frederick Co. said. "These are stone-cold killers who are committing some of the most heinous murders."