Peter Hermann started covering news for The Baltimore Sun in 1990, first in Anne Arundel County and, starting in 1994, reporting on the Baltimore Police Department. In 2001, he was assigned to Jerusalem as the Baltimore Sun's Middle East correspondent. He returned in 2005 as an assistant city editor overseeing crime coverage. In 2008, Peter returned to the beat as a daily reporter and blogger. A recent BBC report featured him in a segment on the harsh realities of covering crime in Baltimore.
Coverage will focus on crime trends, problems in neighborhoods in the city and elsewhere, profiles of victims and police officers and try to offer readers a fresh perspective on one of the most vexing issues facing Baltimore and its future.
Contributing to this blog is
Justin Fenton, who joined
The Sun in 2005 and has covered the Baltimore City Police Department and the criminal justice system since 2008. His work includes an investigation into Cal Ripken Jr.’s minor league baseball stadium deal with his hometown of Aberdeen, a three-part series chronicling a ruthless con woman, coverage of the killing of five Amish children at a schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pa., and a job swap with a British crime reporter to explore differences in crime-fighting.
A special report looking into how city police handle rape cases led to sweeping reforms that changed the way sexual assaults are investigated in Baltimore. He was recognized as the best reporter in Baltimore by the
City Paper in 2010 and by
Baltimore Magazine in 2011.
Because we need some levity on the crime blog from time to time, let's have a caption contest for this photo posted to Twitter by state Sen. Bill Ferguson, showing Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III and City Council President Bernard "Jack" Young at Monday's home opener for the Orioles. As you might recall, Young, who used to head the council's public safety committee, was once the closest thing to a critic that Bealefeld had on the city council, and he openly questioned whether there was a cover-up regarding the city's murder rate. [Edit] They've enjoyed a rosier relationship since Young became council president.
Comments
The Three Stooges
Posted by: Josh Zimet | April 5, 2011 4:53 PM
So then I says to him, "I don't live in Baltimore City either! What do you want me to do about it?!"
Posted by: Anonymous | April 5, 2011 8:18 PM
I'll kiss your butt if you kiss mine.
Posted by: also anonymous | April 5, 2011 8:44 PM
If it is that easy, why am I wastng so much expense and time living in the city?
Posted by: w | April 5, 2011 11:13 PM
Hey Comish, glad to see you here joining me to watch the game. Just think we are here watching the game and on the tax payer's dime and they are not. Ain't life grand on a first class ticket??
Posted by: Bill Hackley | April 6, 2011 8:10 AM
Jack, I thought you'd be a Nationals fans since you live in Howard Co.
Posted by: Zack Wolfe | April 6, 2011 8:37 AM