IAFF Local 964, IAFF Local 734 and the FOP are hosting a Retirement Seminar on May 1 and 2, 2013 from 0830-1530 hours. The seminars will be held at the United Auto Workers Union Hall located at O'Donnell Street and Oldham Street. The seminars are open to the membership of the aforementioned organizations. The seminars will feature speakers/personnel from Social Security, MECU, Deferred Compensation, City of Baltimore Employee Benefits, the Fire and Police Employees' Retirement System and several private investment firms.

If you are interested in attending, please RSVP by calling the FOP at 410-243-9141.

Over the weekend there was a fatal stabbing downtown of a young man leaving his workplace, and once again, the BPD refused to mention it on their Twitter or Facebook account.  There are some who will say that posting this information will reflect negatively on the good work our officers have accomplished in reducing crime. The FOP is the first to admit that our police officers are working harder than ever to reduce crime and it is for this reason that our members deserve a competitive benefits package that includes a pay raise.

At the same time, the FOP believes that our job performance will improve if we put information out real-time that can develop tips and suspect information, as well as keep the public informed, and informed not just with shootings and homicides but robberies, burglaries, and larcenies as well.  It is interesting to note that the professor quoted in this article refers to Twitter as the police department's new way of 'spinning'.  This is exactly the type of culture that needs to change within a police agency.  No one knows better about police commanders and politicians who like to 'spin' than the street officer who is out there every day and night getting the job done while the top leaders take all the credit.

What we need in Baltimore is a BPD that lets the public know exactly what is happening - whether it is good news or bad news. Denying that we have a problem with crime, any type of crime, in any of the city's neighborhoods, is not going to help us obtain the trust we need from the public and aid us in making quality arrests and convicting the thugs who still plague this City.

--Bob Cherry

Here is a link to the article by Justin Fenton in The Sun: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bs-md-ci-police-twitter-criticism-20130408,0,5670398.story