Maryland Governor Plans To Unveil Crime-Fighting Plan For Baltimore
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- With the death toll skyrocketing in Baltimore, Gov. Larry Hogan says he will issue his own crime-fighting strategy.
Tuesday, Hogan expressed doubts in Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh's plan to get the violence under control. He says Pugh has no plan to silence it.
Gov. Hogan says he won't send in the National Guard but will reveal his own plan to stop the violence in Baltimore as soon as next week.
"I don't know that there is a plan," Hogan said. "We've discussed thoughts about what we could do, what she should do, what we should do, but, no, I'm not aware of any violent crime plan."
Gov. Hogan and Pugh have met several times since summer to talk about how to curb violence on city streets.
"We're going to be proposing some additional crime fighting measures that we're going to be announcing in the next week or so," he said.
The body count this year: 316 murder victims. A record shattering homicide rate, where no neighborhood has been untouched.
Earlier November, a botched robbery outside the Royal Farms in Locust Point ended with murder of bartender Alex Wroblewski, who had stopped to buy milk and cookies after work.
RELATED: Funeral Services Held For Bartender Killed Outside Locust Point Royal Farms
At Baltimore's Inner Harbor, a focal point of the city, a girl was punched and hit in the head with a bat, her mom says.
With a number of brutal beatings and the death toll still ticking, mayor Pugh released a violence reduction plan back in August with the promise of better street lighting, free tuition at Baltimore City Community College and more police officers on the streets.
Weeks ago Pugh said she's shortening the hiring process from nine months to three.
"Anybody who thinks I don't take this seriously, or that this isn't alarming to me, or that I'm not moving fast enough," Pugh said. "Well, I can't negate the process of getting police officers on the street."
Tuesday, Baltimore police pointed to the juvenile justice system, saying part of the problem is that teenagers accused of violent crimes end up back on the street, just as fast as they can arrest them.
Gov. Hogan says some of his crime fighting plan will include new state legislation.
Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook
