Governor's Race: Addressing crime in Baltimore and across the state

Republican Gubernatorial Candidate, Dan Cox: "I think also the criminal aspect, the crime that’s raging, rampant crime that’s really beginning to spread. I just, I’ve talked, I’ve traveled the state, obviously, I just got back from Prince George’s sadly it seems to be expanding there, rather than lessening, we have increased car jackings, a lot of youth are sadly involved. So, we need to have a very clear outreach to our community and to back our police. This is another area where my opponent and I differ. He’s on record saying not only should we defund the police, we should indict the system and I don’t think that’s the appropriate approach I think we want to get back to normalcy, to say, 'Let’s keep our streets safe,' that’s a novel thing, let’s just enforce the laws, let’s help police to get out there and meet the youth and have interaction, to build trust and community and I think that will help, along with improving our education crisis."

Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate, Wes Moore: "in the military there’s a statement, mission first, people always. And I think that’s exactly how we’re focusing on our work, mission first, people always. We know that, you can’t get anything done if you’re not first addressing the issue of public safety. If people do not feel safe, they will not come. And if people don’t feel safe, they will not stay. We’ve got to address the issue of public safety, and that means getting and keeping violent offenders off of our streets, getting these illegal guns out of our communities, being able to fix a broken parole and probation system, because right now, a third of violent crime is being done by people who are in violation of parole and probation. I.e. We know who they are. And they continue to commit violent crimes in our neighborhoods. That’s a specific function that the state has and should be taking leadership roles on. Taking state resources and putting them on loan to the City of Baltimore, things like assisting our homicide detectives, In the city of Baltimore. Right now, Baltimore has a 41% closure rate for homicides, so basically, if I commit a homicide, I have a better chance of getting away with it, than I do of getting captured, caught, tried and convicted. These are all things the state can uniquely do to help support, starting with public safety, but knowing that we aren’t going to arrest our way out of the challenge either. Everything else, about economic development, educational supports, transportation, affordable housing, that’s all things that have to be a part of a larger plan."