ANNAPOLIS – Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan called Wednesday for a statewide audit of crime statistics, following controversy over claims by Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley, Duncan’s opponent in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, that crime in Baltimore is down nearly 40 percent.
Duncan’s call for an audit puts him in line with Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who has already announced a study of crime statistics in Baltimore and other Maryland jurisdictions, including Montgomery County.
“Hiding our head in the sand, hiding behind data that – for all intents and purposes – is useless, does nothing to make our cities and towns safer,” Duncan said in a press conference.
While Duncan said he supported Ehrlich’s planned study of crime figures, he said his would go further by standardizing crime statistics statewide.
“We need to make sure that it’s uniform all across the state . . . that we are comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges versus giving people a false sense of security,” Duncan said.
O’Malley supporters called the planned studies “politically motivated” and said questioning Baltimore’s crime record tarnished the efforts of police and community leaders.
“The negative tone is not surprising,” said Hari Sevugan, a spokesman for the O’Malley campaign. “Rather than recognizing the progress that’s been made in Baltimore, both Duncan and Ehrlich have attacked the hard work that our community has made to turn our city around.”
Claims about O’Malley’s reduction of crime in Baltimore, including the statistic that crime has dropped by nearly 40 percent, have been a substantial part of O’Malley’s campaign for governor. But an article in The (Baltimore) Sun questioned those statistics.
The controversy has been based in large part on O’Malley’s audit of Baltimore crime statistics for 1999. The Sun story suggested his comparison of these figures with unaudited 2004 figures might have inflated his success at reducing crime.
Audra Miller, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Republican Party, supported Duncan’s calls for a study of crime statistics in what she called “the second most dangerous city in America.”
“I think Doug Duncan is rightfully bringing to light the great possibility that Martin O’Malley cooked the books to make his resume look better,” Miller said.
Frank A. DeFilippo, who was political strategist to former Governor Marvin Mandel and is now a commentator on WBAL radio, agrees that the issue of whether crime statistics were manipulated to improve O’Malley’s record could be important.
“Right now, I think that’s the one issue that they’re going to bang O’Malley with pretty badly,” DeFilippo said, noting that both Duncan and Ehrlich were using the issue against O’Malley.
DeFilippo also questioned the legitimacy of Ehrlich ordering taxpayer-funded audits of crime statistics in the jurisdictions of both of his prospective gubernatorial opponents. “Why he selected only four [jurisdictions to audit the crime statistics of] leave it open to criticism, I think,” he said.