Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen was quick at Tuesday night’s budget proposal hearing to say that the Baltimore Police Department is a “different department” today than the one he met as a newly elected councilmember eight years ago.

“This is a department that has improved its efficiency, its effectiveness, that is, frankly, just winning when it comes to the crime fight,” said Cohen, citing the continued historic drop in homicides and non-fatal shootings. In April, the city recorded five homicides, the lowest monthly total since modern record keeping began in the 1970’s.

BPD’s $614M budget proposal for FY 2026 is a 3.5% increase over last fiscal year.

Read more (and listen) at WYPR.

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