Baltimore police will pull 25 officers out of the state's HotSpots program at the year's end - the first action signaling the likely end of a 5-year-old initiative that generated intense debates about its effectiveness.

The demise of the program has been expected since its strongest backer, Democrat Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, lost the governor's race last month to Republican Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

During the campaign, Ehrlich derided the HotSpots initiative and other signature Townsend crime-fighting programs. Funding for the project - which distributed about $7 million in grants last year to 62 HotSpots statewide - ends June 30.

However, under an August 2001 arrangement that temporarily halted a political squabble between Baltimore and state officials, the project's funding for city police officers ends six months earlier.

Police said last week that residents would not notice any changes after the officers change assignments.

"Programs don't last forever," said Kristen Mahoney, the Police Department's director of grants and governmental relations. "It's time to work on sustaining partnerships."

Baltimore police officials said they have not decided how to redeploy the officers.

Some will remain in their districts and others will likely transfer to the agency's community relations unit, police officials said.

Several officers are expected to continue working on a crime-prevention program begun last summer that targets juveniles violating curfews and home detention requirements. That effort has become a key platform of Mayor Martin O'Malley.

"Our main goal is to keep [youths] off the streets at night so they don't get shot or killed, or become a suspect or victim in a violent crime," said Lt. Col. Kathleen Patek, deputy chief of the department's patrol division.

The HotSpots program takes a holistic approach to crime-fighting and teams police officers, probation agents and community activists to battle neighborhood ills.

Probation agents and civic leaders will continue to operate in the city's 12 HotSpots locations through June 30, when the remaining funds will dry up. HotSpots programs in other jurisdictions are expected to suffer a similar demise on that date.

Ehrlich transition team officials refused to confirm that the HotSpots initiative will be eliminated, saying they would not discuss individual programs and budget choices. The state faces a $1.2 billion shortfall in the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

"No state program is off-limits when it comes to balancing the budget," said Ehrlich spokesman Henry Fawell. "The HotSpots record is well-documented and will be part of his consideration process when balancing the budget."

The program has strong backers in many communities. Residents in some HotSpots areas said the grants and additional police officers helped reduce crime and improve civic involvement - and they lamented the loss of city law enforcement from the effort.

"It's a real sad day that we lose a good third of our team," said Cathy B. Brown, executive director of Cherry Hill 2000 and community coordinator of the Cherry Hill HotSpots program. "I think it's a shame that nobody is looking ahead to the future. We're going to lose all the progress we've made."

But others, including Ehrlich and some top Baltimore officials, have questioned whether the resources and officers are being used effectively.

The governor-elect's nominee to lead the Maryland State Police, former city Police Commissioner Edward T. Norris, has called the program an example of the "failed policies of the past."

He and other top police officials have said the project did not give them enough flexibility to respond to evolving crime patterns.

Last year, Norris tried to remove 13 officers from the initiative, igniting a storm of controversy and criticism from many in HotSpots communities.

Norris agreed to return the officers to their HotSpots assignments after state officials gave the department $2.2 million to continue financing the project through tomorrow.