Many citizens question the resolve of the BPD to fight crime. The greatest concern of citizens is the BPD's seeming inability to control drug trafficking on the streets. The visibility of drug dealing on the streets has led many citizens to suspect police complicity.
Citizens complain that the police are often insensitive to the communities they serve.
Citizens want the police to move assertively against crime, but do so with integrity and respect for civil rights. Citizens also want communication established between the police and the communities they serve. The External Reality Perceptions and Attitudes of the People of Baltimore 123 citizens from Baltimore were interviewed in 13 focus groups conducted in November and December 1999. They were from neighborhoods representing all nine police districts in the City, all City Council Districts, as well as all age groups. Most either had been victims of crime or had family, friends or neighbors who were victims, although these were not criteria in screening.