Baltimore police hope reform can coexist with lowering crime

By LEA SKENE
Associated Press

BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore police leaders hope to show that crime reduction and police reform aren’t mutually exclusive as they push to overhaul the troubled department. During a quarterly review hearing Thursday in federal court, a judge praised the agency’s progress. The judge said the question now is whether city leaders will allocate the necessary resources to complete the reform efforts. Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said in an interview Wednesday that the department is showing it can do both reform and crime fighting. But he says there’s still a long way to go, and the bigger challenge is rebuilding trust with Baltimore residents.