Associated Press
BALTIMORE — A commission established to review homicides in Baltimore has stalled because its leaders say the city’s top prosecutor isn’t sharing information that’s needed for the program to work.
The city spent nearly $200,000 last year to launch the Homicide Review Commission. It was meant to bring together elected officials, police leaders, academics, public health officials and others to identify trends that leads to slayings and how best to respond.
Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, was tapped to lead the project. He tells The Baltimore Sun that State Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s refusal to provide information on ongoing cases “took the air out of the whole process.” Mosby tells The Sun that providing information could compromise investigations or jeopardize the safety of victims.
Baltimore reached a grim milestone on Friday, three months after riots erupted in response to the death of Freddie Gray in police custody: With 45 homicides in July, the highest monthly murder rate in 43 years.
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