Annapolis Capital Punishment

The following came from our police department, presumably to many different receivers:

Original Message ( with correction)
Date: July 22nd, 2008 Tuesday

SPECIAL REQUEST TO READERS:

Lately, it seems the officers and APD have been subjected to some particularly harsh press. We do not suggest for one second that we should be above criticism and always do things perfectly. Far from it. We actually welcome scrutiny and constructive criticism. It helps us improve our level of services. By the same token, it seems some media prefer to accentuate the negative, while ignoring the positive. Our officers are doing things above and beyond the call of duty every day, both on and off the job. Rarely will you see this reflected in the traditional media. You won*t see a story about an officer handling a panhandling complaint at a fast food restaurant by buying a down and out homeless man a meal out of his own pocket, then finding him a place to stay for the night. You may not see a story about two officers rushing into a burning building and hustling an elderly resident out. You won*t see stories about officers taking armed suicidal subjects into custody without any injuries being involved. You may, but only if there is not enough *bad news* to report that day, it seems. That is
quite understandable, as the traditional media is a business and the old axiom no doubt holds true about bad things being news.

We are seeking outlets to disseminate * good news* about our agency and personnel. If any readers run or participate in any other information sharing forums, such as blogs, newsletters, or publications, we would like to enlist your help. We would like to send you such stories occasionally for your consideration in your venue. If anyone is in such a position, we ask that you e-mail or call us so that we may add you to our list of recipients. As always, of course, you are free to link to this report, re-produce it, or otherwise use the information conducive to your interests.

hdalton@annapolis.gov (410) 268-9000 ext. 7305

CP believes it is important for all of us to be aware of and to monitor our police department, and to work with its officers to fight crime and improve our city. Here is an excerpt of what CP wrote to Officer Hal Dalton in response:

Police departments are like bus systems, utility companies and newspapers. Everybody loves to complain and criticize them. But our department has not done a very good job in boosting its image. It has done a good job of this in some respects, for example your crime reports, but not so good in others. What I am saying is that a bad image is in part its own shortcoming, and I think that the experience of many hundreds of citizens getting nowhere with concerns and complaints and suggestions and seeing an entrenched chief who was past his prime ignore repeated pleas to place resources in high crime areas, but to no avail. Then what happens? The ICMA comes along and says it should do just that.

The recent reporting about lax follow-up and investigation of a particular crime against property hit a chord--not because it was critical, but because many have had the same experience with APD. I had a similar experience and despite repeated requests, there was no investigation. If the public is not aware of many of the good things that APD officers are doing, it may be easy to blame it on the media, but the real blame lays with the department for not making these things known.