By Alexander M.E. Kellum
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Baltimore City Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said Wednesday that the department was unprepared for the civil unrest that followed the death of Freddie Gray last April and has since changed its tactics to work more closely with local neighborhoods.
In a speech at the Cade Center for Fine Arts at Anne Arundel Community College, Davis said some of the equipment that officers had to use during the demonstrations and riots was left over from the 1968 riots, including the bright blue helmets and plastic shields.
Davis said some of the tools officers used, such as the nonlethal equipment, had to be borrowed from surrounding departments.
“There’s an assumption that police departments are subject-matter experts in civil disturbance, but we’re not,” Davis said before about 100 attendees. “The biggest reason why I’m here tonight is the local interest, national interest, and really international interest in the Baltimore Police Department.”
Davis said the department is shifting away from traditional policing and instead focusing more on community outreach. He said the department has been implementing new strategies to help bolster bonds between law enforcement and local neighborhoods.
For example, Davis said officers are attending lectures revolving around the city’s history. They are also involved in Outward Bound, a program designed to expose troubled youth to local authorities in an effort to strengthen bonds.
Davis said the perception of law enforcement in the eyes of youth is a crucial focus of the department. Outward Bound, he said, helps narrow the gap by giving young people and officers time to interact one on one.
Under the program, schools help identify students who may need assistance, and the department sends officers to the classrooms to meet the students, he said.
Davis said that police officers have been critiqued for their lack of cultural sensitivity. The “History of Baltimore Speaker Series” was devised to inform officers of the different cultures living in Baltimore, he said, adding that the department has partnered with Johns Hopkins University to help study the effectiveness of these programs.
“I want someone to come in and prove to us, and the community, that it’s working,” Davis said.
Davis said that foot patrols will also be implemented back into the force. Foot patrols help officers reach out to the communities and communicate better with them, Davis said. He said that the interactions made between officers and locals are a fragile thing, saying that one incident may set back progress.
Davis also said that body cameras add to the level of transparency in the department and let the community see what’s going on with the department. The department has also begun utilizing social media and smartphone apps.
“We’re doing as much as we possibly can to communicate 24/7 with our community what going on with our police department,” Davis said.