Pubdate: Wed, 16 Sep 2015 Source: Baltimore Sun (MD) Copyright: 2015 The Baltimore Sun Company Contact: http://www.baltimoresun.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37 Author: Paul Kilduff LOCKING MORE PEOPLE UP WON'T MAKE US SAFER Rod Rosenstein's op-ed piece, "A proven plan to prevent city murders" (Sept. 13), starts with the notion that it is the Police Department's job to prevent crime. To the contrary, I believe it is the Police Department's job to promptly respond to crime, investigate crime and deliver the guilty person to justice. The primary job of a prosecutor is to be a minister of justice - this is a widely accepted but often-ignored requirement, and it is ignored in Mr. Rosenstein's essay. Mr. Rosenstein falls back on the tired, disproven idea that long prison sentences make us safer, citing murder statistics. Judging police work by statistics has been disastrous for the people of this city. Simply put, if we want to prevent murders in Baltimore, we need to end the failed war on drugs. Then let's give high achievers in poor neighborhoods a chance at a decent education - a decent life - without having to get involved in the illegal drug trade. Can we afford to do that? Well, apparently we can afford to keep potential breadwinners locked away at a cost of $30,000 a year - more of them, if Mr. Rosenstein gets his way. Let's make our poor neighborhoods livable and give our poor residents a chance at real success. Dramatically reduce violent crime in Baltimore by ending the failed war on drugs. Spend police resources investigating robbery, burglary, and rape. Mr. Rosenstein argues that "[l]ong prison sentences incapacitate repeat offenders and deter others from following in their footsteps." Here is the flaw in his argument: they are replaced the very next day, because the money is too good to resist thanks to black-market pricing. Will Mr. Rosenstein next put forth a plan that involves emptying the ocean with a bucket? Paul Kilduff, Baltimore - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom