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Feb. 15, 2022
Wes Moore releases comprehensive plan to break the cycle of violent crime and improve public safety
Moore-Miller plan’s urgent action steps include a ban on ghost guns, stronger community-police relations, violence intervention, probation and parole reform and improved re-entry
Community leaders and elected officials rally behind the plan, underscoring the urgent need for Moore’s strategic leadership on public safety
BALTIMORE (Feb. 15, 2022) – In the wake of rising crime rates across Maryland, Democratic candidate for Governor Wes Moore and his running mate former Del. Aruna Miller released a plan to restore executive leadership on public safety and combat crime and violence with the urgency the issue deserves. Moore’s plan will leverage a data-driven approach to combating crime, stem the illegal flow of firearms onto Maryland’s streets, improve community-police relations and reform the state’s probation and parole system.
Read the plan to create a safer Maryland >>
Homicides have increased in 11 jurisdictions over the past four years, and incidences of rape have increased in 14 juridictions. Wes Moore’s plan demonstrates that he is uniquely qualified to bring critical executive leadership to Annapolis and take the immediate action to swiftly and aggressively address gun violence, reform our broken probation and parole system and invest in community-based violence intervention. Under Wes Moore’s leadership, Maryland’s state government will spearhead collaboration across federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, increase resources for state law enforcement agencies to support localities and coordinate data collection across agencies to identify and proactively act on trends in public safety.
As CEO of one of the nation’s largest anti-poverty organizations, Wes Moore led the organization in funding national research on the long-term implications of crime, incarceration and criminal convictions and translating their insights into transformative legislation and poverty. As an Army Captain and combat veteran, Wes Moore was charged with protecting communities around the globe. Wes Moore’s record of executive leadership and public service demonstrate that he is uniquely qualified to lead the state and take immediate action to keep Marylanders safe in their communities.
“Violent crime is on the rise around our state and as governor, my number one priority will be keeping our communities safe,” said Wes Moore. “I will use a data-driven approach to address crime with the urgency and intensity it requires — combating gun violence, reforming probation and parole, improving relationships between communities and law enforcement, and more.”
“The trends we’re seeing in domestic violence, hate crimes and violent crime are evidence that we need a new approach,” added Aruna Miller. “Now is the time for the state government to recognize Maryland is safer when our system administers justice equitably. Wes Moore and I are ready to bring that leadership to Annapolis.”
The plan also acknowledges that the crime in Maryland’s communities are rooted in generational patterns of disinvestment and long standing economic disparities exacerbated by the pandemic. The Moore-Miller plan includes a multi-pronged strategy to address the economic factors driving crime. The Moore-Miller administration will prioritize addressing the factors driving crime such as housing instability, educational challenges and lack of access to health care treatment.
Wes Moore and Aruna Miller also understand that improving public safety requires rebuilding the fraught relationships between communities and law enforcement. To ensure strong accountability and transparency for law enforcement, the plan proposes measures such as promoting information-sharing between agencies, improving diversity, equity and inclusion within agencies, and providing additional clarity to the decertification law passed by the legislature.
Key to the plan’s success is recognition of the critical role community organizations play in preventing crime, and giving residents most impacted a voice in the solutions. To accomplish this goal, the Moore-Miller administration will fund grants for community organizations that have the capacity to interrupt the cycle of violence before crime has been committed.
“Wes Moore will be a governor who approaches the critical responsibility of public safety with focus, leadership, and courage; and that is clear in this comprehensive public safety plan,” said Baltimore City Councilmember Mark Conway (District 4), chair of the city council’s public safety and government operations committee. “The city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland deserve a governor who will bring the kind of urgent leadership to public safety that Wes Moore lays out here.”
“While the majority of law enforcement officers serve with honor and integrity, we also recognize the institution of policing has been inherently biased against people of color, the poor, and low-income communities. These factors often put us at odds with the communities we serve and the solutions must reflect the demands,” said Anthony Alexander, President of the Coalition of Black Maryland State Troopers. “The Moore-Miller plan elevates accountability as a key driver to rebuilding trust and proposes adequate training, mental health support and appropriate funding to begin to heal the divides between communities and law enforcement.”
“Wes Moore and Aruna Miller understand the process of successful reentry is incomplete without addressing the basic human needs which, left unmet, can lead to crime,” said Bob Clegg, community activist for employment equity. “Their plan will build new pathways to economic opportunity for reentering citizens through job training, expungement reform, access to transportation and more, because they recognize these efforts are key to driving down recidivism, improving public safety, and transforming both individual lives and society as a whole.”
The Moore-Miller plan to create a safer Maryland is the latest in a series of comprehensive policy frameworks by the Moore-Miller campaign, including a plan to unlock economic opportunity for Maryland’s Black families, an economic plan to increase work, wages, and wealth for every family in Maryland, an action plan to support Marylanders during the surge of COVID cases and a plan to build a cleaner, more prosperous Maryland.
Wes Moore and Aruna Miller’s rapidly growing coalition includes endorsements from former Governor and former Prince George’s County Executive Parris Glendening; Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman; former Baltimore County Executive Don Mohler; former Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith; Sen. Antonio Hayes (District 40); Sen. Cheryl Kagan (District 17); Sen. Delores Kelley (District 10); Sen. Obie Patterson (District 26); Del. Marlon Amprey (District 40); Del. Kumar Barve (District 17); Del. Lisa Belcastro (District 11); Del. Chanel Branch (District 45); Del. Frank Conaway, Jr. (District 40); Del. Anne Kaiser (District 14); Del. and Baltimore City Delegation Chair Stephanie Smith (District 45); Del. Melissa Wells (District 40); Bowie Mayor Pro Tem & Councilmember Adrian Boafo; Baltimore City Councilmember John Bullock (District 9); Baltimore City Councilmember Zeke Cohen (District 1); Baltimore City Councilmember Mark Conway (District 4); Baltimore City Councilmember Eric Costello (District 11); Montgomery County Councilmember Will Jawando (At Large); Baltimore County Council Chair and Councilmember Julian Jones (District 4); Baltimore City Councilmember Phylicia Porter (District 10); Baltimore City Councilmember Odette Ramos (District 14); Somerset Mayor Jeffrey Slavin; Baltimore City Councilmember Robert Stokes (District 12); Baltimore City Councilmember James Torrence (District 7); former Maryland Democratic Party chairs Michael Cryor and Susie Turnbull; The Baltimore Fire Officers Union Local 964; and VoteVetsPAC, one of the top veterans advocacy organizations in the country.
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