This just came in by e-mail, with a request for anonymity:

As an ex-Detroit Police Officer that has relocated to this area (I am not a police officer anywhere now), I was my precinct's resident Community Police Officer.  I received certification at VA Tech, and was also the DARE officer in my community.  I learned a lot.  I could get into the whole "Broken Window" theory, and more, but that would take way too much time, and add nothing to the urgency of the problem affecting Baltimore City right now.

I was successful in doing my part in equally violent Detroit, because I grew up and "LIVED" in the community I "SERVED."  Most of the knuckle-heads were dudes I grew up with, and many were friends of my knuckle-head brothers, and hung out right in my moms house.

The community policing thing can work in "select" neighborhoods, or communities, but not in Baltimore at large.  Community policing can only work when the people in those affected communities make a conscious effort to "trust" and "partner" with the police, and the police respect and partner with the community. 

My new home in a very tough neighborhood in West Baltimore, is not such a candidate.  The people in that community have an extreme distrust of the police, and a sick maligned loyalty to the criminal elements that have infiltrated and infested those communities.  Why?  Because those drug dealers give them something that the city won't, cash, drugs, and what they perceive as a voice - they listen to them, they make them think they are part of something that Baltimore is very bad about doing - recognizing their invisible underclass.  They make them feel "visible" and make their existence relevevant!  They throw them a few dollars to act as lookouts, and give them positions and growth opportunities.  They solicit mothers to get their children on the payroll so they can help out with the ever-increasing cost of living in Baltimore.  When you have BGE raise your energy 50%, and your rent, food, and gas went up, that money looks good, especially when you got a couple growing kids that eat everything that doesn't move.

The drug culture is so intertwined with everyday life in Baltimore, that community policing just won't make a dent in the real problem; drugs and access to guns, PERIOD!

I think that Sheila Dixon has good intentions, but she is not versed in the subject of policing a REAL CITY or its crime problems, well enough to lead this city to continued prosperity.  I think she has done considerable damage to the image of Baltimore, and will only do worse in the future.  Many of my Washington D.C. friends and coworkers that have considered Baltimore, are now not so sure about making that move from the high costs of Washington D.C. because of this recent crime spike.

People ask me why I didn't join the police department in Baltimore...I always tell them that they just don't pay enough for what I could bring them, simple as that...pay.  When you look at the Department, and what they have to go through, I can see why the morale is so low.  I can also see that a new Baltimore will require a new Baltimore police officer.  One that is better educated, professional, fitter, and more concerned about the community it serves, all while balancing tough policing principles.  However, while such a police officer does exist, there is a cost associated with getting him or her.  Baltimore gets exactly what they pay for, and until both these issues are addressed (better pay for officers and continued zero tolerance, particularly for drug and gun offenses) Baltimore's crime will continue to spiral upward.