I like Police Commissioner Anthony Batts. I like what he says about Baltimore and I like what he says about policing. He has not been anywhere near as successful implementing his style on the Baltimore City Police Department as we might have wished. The big question is what to do about it ("Batts and the community," May 22).
I feel that throwing him out is a step in the wrong direction. Helping him is the right direction. I think the leadership under Commissioner Batts is the right place to begin making waves. Mr. Batts has been quite clear about his vision for the department, and his subordinates have not moved appropriately of sufficiently to implement his policies. They should be on the hot seat as they have been the men and women who have come up through the system in this department and have fostered an atmosphere of doing things the same old way. They are the ones who need to be replaced if they are unable to lead their departments in the direction prescribed by the commissioner.
Changing the Baltimore City Police Department into one loved by the community it serves rather than one which is feared cannot and will not happen overnight. Changes need to be made and the public needs to know what the changes are. We need to be able to see a difference both in the short term and the long term. I feel that this is possible if the commissioner's vision is implemented, and the cost will include the sacrifice of stubborn officers who cannot and will not change. Between the way things are and the way we would all like them to be is a middle period which will not be cheap and easy, and we must support our commissioner as he guides this change — faster, please.
Kirk Shriver, Baltimore