Pubdate: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 Source: Baltimore Sun (MD) Copyright: 2003 The Baltimore Sun, a Times Mirror Newspaper. Contact: http://www.sunspot.net/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37 Cited: National Drug Control Policy reauthorization bill Cited: Dawson Family Community Protection Act MONEY FOR SOMETHING When the Dawson family was firebombed to death in Baltimore, the shock and outrage rippled across the city and the nation. The cry: "Never again." That law-abiding people - and their children - should die as a result of doing their community duty was appalling. That criminals could rule a neighborhood and impose their own brand of "justice" on residents was terrifying. These killings, as well as the continuing attrition in the city's hardest communities, have spurred officials to seek extra help in maintaining order and keeping residents safe. The latest is the Dawson Family Community Protection Act, sponsored by Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, which would set aside federal money for services in targeted Baltimore neighborhoods. The Dawson bill rides with the Office of National Drug Control Policy reauthorization bill, which House members should consider a priority when they return in September. It would slice $1 million off the top of the drug policy budget for each high-intensity drug area on the list - in some 28 districts nationwide, including the Baltimore area. The national drug control office money that remained also would be shared among the district offices, then distributed to multi-agency groups - including state, local and federal divisions and others, as the office sees fit. The department is asking the House for $206 million total; the amount has been boosted in the past, and some House watchers predict the final budget will be closer to $226 million. In the name of the Dawsons, the city already received an extra $2 million last year from the federal funds. That money was spent in part on supporting the multi-agency Baltimore Targeting Initiative, concentrating on three high-crime city areas and buying equipment for surveillance, software to track crimes and criminals, street lighting and more police patrols. The new money would go to continue those efforts as well as to foster ways for neighbors to be part of the solution yet still safe. Suggestions include hotlines and better monitoring of threatened families without having to relocate them. The Baltimore/D.C. district drug office is the only one that also spends money on programs aiming to treat and prevent crime, not just enforce the law. It recently reconstituted a program that will pay two people to work with the city Police Department, the mayor's office and neighborhoods to increase community involvement in reclaiming the territories from which the police intend to clear the drug trade. The high-intensity drug program has had some success, especially at reducing the rate of repeat offenders, but not enough. So far this year, 168 people have been killed in the city, many in these target areas. A neighbor on the Dawsons' block reports seeing extra police patrols for a while, but fewer now. Communities and their protectors cannot lessen the pressure. In a year when state funding is being cut for drug treatment in the city and for the departments of Juvenile Services and Health and Mental Hygiene, Baltimore needs all the federal help it can get. The Dawson bill is a solid next step. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin