Council President Scott Rejects Governor Hogan's Attempt to Pass Regressive & Ineffective “Tough On Crime” Policies

Council President Scott Rejects Governor Hogan's Attempt to Pass Regressive & Ineffective “Tough On Crime” Policies

“If we want violence in Baltimore to end, we must be smart on crime, not just tough.”

BALTIMORE, MD (February 21, 2020) — Baltimore City Council President Brandon M. Scott released the following statement Friday afternoon regarding Governor Hogan's regressive plan to address violent crime: 

“While Governor Hogan and I share a common goal of reducing violence in Baltimore, I cannot support his recent attempts to implement more mandatory minimums and remove judicial discretion in sentencing.

The data is clear: there is no evidence that these policies reduce crime. Passing harsher sentencing policies may allow the Governor to say he is doing something, but it will not make our communities any safer. These policies were wrong and misguided when our former Mayor advocated for them, and they are wrong now.

I stand with my friend, Senator William Smith Jr. of Montgomery County. The Governor was out of line for calling for him to step down from his leadership post. Senator Smith has served the Maryland Senate, this state, and our country with dignity as a U.S. Navy Reserve officer who was deployed to Afghanistan last year. He has been firm in his leadership that he will not permit Governor Hogan’s continued attempts to remove judicial discretion in sentencing.

As Senator Smith said powerfully yesterday in the Judicial Proceedings Committee, these policies do not bear out in the evidence. They are not effective crime-fighting strategies. Additionally, we know that over his tenure, Governor Hogan cut staff at Juvenile Services, Parole and Probation, and Correctional Services, which are in desperate need of additional capacity. Instead of pointing fingers, I ask the Governor to do what he can do within his powers today to fully invest in the State public safety services we have to improve the quality of supervision and support in our city.

Baltimore needs real solutions rooted in our communities most seriously impacted by the violence. This isn’t it.  If we want violence in Baltimore to end, we must be smart on crime, not just tough.”