One of the alarming things about the current crime wave is that both violent and property crimes are increasing dramatically in Maryland, a state that has not seen a similar spike in the past. This is exactly what is happening in Prince George's and Montgomery Counties, which are suffering from a surge in violent crime, carjackings, and robberies. Over the past few years, crime in these counties has skyrocketed from a secondary concern to a top concern for their residents. Local and state leaders cannot address this crisis alone. In the Senate, I will work to ensure that the federal government is the true partner Maryland needs.
Organized carjacking rings are a big part of this problem. In Prince George's County alone, carjackings have increased by nearly 600% since 2019, and are expected to increase even more this year. These rings often recruit teenagers to operate. Well-intentioned but reckless efforts to divert minors from the criminal justice system make it virtually impossible to hold them accountable and offer them true rehabilitation.
We need to continue our efforts to address the long-term root causes of crime, provide more and better mental health resources, and help those who pay off their debts successfully reintegrate into society, but not without taking immediate steps to get violent criminals off our streets.
In 2022, when I was Governor, my administration demonstrated that we could do this effectively in Baltimore City by leveraging federal resources. When then-State Attorney Marilyn Mosby was unable to prosecute crimes, we worked with U.S. Attorney for Maryland Ereck Barron to deploy strategic federal assets to accomplish the mission and provided millions of dollars in state funding to support additional prosecutors and staff, including 10 additional Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Baltimore office. These prosecutors pursued the “Al Capone model” of pursuing federal firearms, fraud and other criminal charges against individuals known to be repeat offenders of violent crimes.
That same year, in the face of ongoing cuts to police budgets by some local governments, we pushed ahead with a $500 million police budget reallocation initiative, increasing state funding to local police by 50%, and implementing historic increases in officer pay and bonuses, victim assistance, and increased funding for training and technology. Beginning in August 2022, homicides in Baltimore began to decrease compared to the previous year. This trend continued for five of the six months until I left office and, thankfully, into 2023.
We must adopt this proven approach at the federal level as a key tool in fighting crime. On my first day in the Senate, I will get to work increasing resources to hire federal prosecutors and focusing on taking down carjacking gangs and other organized crime. Despite investments in law enforcement, this funding and support is not always matched by local leaders. Just last week, I met with Prince George's FOP, Anna Rundell FOP and federal law enforcement to hear about the resources they need to get the job done. We need a federal police rebudget initiative that will provide more training for law enforcement, more school resource officers, and funding to solve the violent crimes that terrorize our communities and diminish the quality of life for so many Marylanders.
This is just the beginning of what the federal government must and can do to fight crime not only in Maryland, but across the country. We need to increase federal penalties for criminals who use illegal guns and encourage states to enforce red flag laws to take guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. We need to aggressively use existing federal laws, such as increasing firearm penalties in school zones and other federally designated locations, to get repeat violent criminals off our streets.
Crime is a top concern for Marylanders and Americans, but like most of today's pressing issues, politicians in Washington only offer platitudes and finger-pointing. This must change. We can no longer allow politics to get in the way of public safety. There are bipartisan, commonsense solutions the federal government can adopt that will make a real difference. In the Senate, I will bring people from both parties together to get this done, and make supporting law enforcement and making our communities safer my top priorities.
Larry Hogan (info@larryhogan.com) is the 62nd Governor of Maryland and the state's Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator Ben Cardin.
