As Baltimore debates the police department's lack of transparency about its expansive aerial surveillance program, we should pause to reflect on the problem we face as a city ("State public defender's office calls for immediate suspension of Baltimore police surveillance program," Aug. 29).
The Baltimore City Police Department's clearance rate for homicides has fallen to 30 percent. Yet for many years it was above 90 percent, and as late as 2000 it was 78 percent.
Every unsolved case means a murderer is free to murder again. The clearance rate has fallen so dramatically in part because of the refusal of witnesses to testify because of fear of reprisal and/or distrust of the police. The competence of the homicide detectives investigating these cases is also a factor.
Police Commissioner Kevin Davis should be applauded for his continuing effort to find new interventions to reduce the outrageous homicide rate in the city. The cost and effectiveness of aerial surveillance must be determined. Once the facts are known, a decision should be made publicly as to whether and how to proceed.
Robert Embry, Baltimore
The writer is president of the Abell Foundation.