We'd heard rumors about a unique command-staff level meeting in the Baltimore Police Department. It involved cops, of course, but also an assortment of business types and others involved, for better or worse, in community life.

Our police reporter Justin Fenton tracked it down:

Col. John Skinner, chief of patrol operations, brought together more than 70 top ranking officials for a two-day training session at Johns Hopkins University. The focus:  operational priorities for 2009, such as targeting violent offenders and forging partnerships.

Skinner brought in a steady flow of guest speakers to give police various perspectives. He said Deputy Mayor Andy Frank, the former executive vice president of the Baltimore Development Corp, discussed the city's economic development plans for the coming years and the effect they could have on shifting crime patterns and priorities, and First Mariner Bank chairman Ed Hale talked about the impact of crime on tourism and perceptions about living and working in Baltimore.

There was also a panel discussion that included Anna Sowers, who has become a face of victim's rights after her husband was fatally beaten during a robbery in Canton, Kimberly Armstrong, a community activist from Northeast Baltimore whose son was murdered a few years ago, and Walter Lomax, who was wrongly imprisoned for 39 years and released in 2006.

"I wanted to bring people in who've had unique experiences with police, to talk about professionalism and how a single event can influence the rest of their lives," Skinner told Justin.  "Police can get focused on what's in front of them and can lose sight of the lasting impact they may make on someone."

Maj. Melvin Russell, the commander of the Eastern District and a pastor who has been forging strong ties with clergy in his district, brought in church leaders to talk about how their partnerships can help the crime fight, and the Maryland Muslim Council spoke as well.

The more voices heard the better, and I'd love to hear from people, both cops and others, who participated in this program. I'm particularly interested in the discussion of development and shifting crime patterns. I've always wondered if city services -- police, schools, trash collection -- kept up with the rise in housing and transformation of sketchy neighborhoods to trendy spots.