BPD invites Adam Rosenberg to be the keynote speaker at cadet graduation

Before 40 new police cadets and their families, Adam Rosenberg, BCAC's Executive Director, gave an address imploring new cadets to believe they can make a difference.

Read the text of it here

Keynote Address - Baltimore Police Department Academy Class 08-01 November 21, 2008

 

It is an honor to be invited to be your keynote speaker today for your graduation ceremony. Thank you Commissioner Bealefeld for this opportunity. I must admit, when I was asked to speak, I was not sure what advice I could give you.  So I asked the people I thought could help me say something smart.... my 5 year old twins.....I asked them "What do police officers do?"

 They said that police officers help people and arrest bad guys,

  • Police officers get lots of training in flying because they havea police helicopter
  • They learn how to use a cannon
  • They learn how to run really fast and drive very fast
  • Police officers are courageous and strong and try hard to be fair

 All told, it's a pretty good description about who you all are and what you face, except the cannon, I'm not sure where that came from.

But I think children's perception of your role as police officers says something. Kids, and truly all of us in our hearts know that you chose this role to do good, help people and be fair.

I've had the honor of working with law enforcement for over 15 years. In my role as a prosecutor, I've seen the best of officers doing just that, "doing good." I've worked with patrol officers in the districts, vice cops who dumpster dive for evidence, learned how to jump start a car with the RATT team, I've gone on more than my fair share of search and seizure raids with the "key to the city," and I've honestly stopped for donuts with a Sergeant. I've watched 20 year old cold cases get solved, impossible cases cracked, My best moments as a prosecutor have been working on sex offenses and sexual child abuse cases with the most committed of officers, those who were there when a victim - be it if she was 7, 17, or 70 years old - was at their most vulnerable and most hurt, you were there to make it better. And almost invariably if the case involved a victim, they thanked you for what you did - you treated them with respect and dignity.

You have the exciting opportunity to assume any one of those roles I just described, and so many more. The commonality of any of these positions is that badge and the work you do, you make a real difference.

Here's one example of how two of your brethren have made a difference. Laura was an 18 year old who was living alone for the first time in her life. 3 months into it, she was sexually assaulted by a stranger. She reported the case. There was no testable physical evidence that matched any known suspect. It was 1983 and it remained unsolved.

Two sex offense detectives received a call from Laura one day in 2001. Seeing the rise in DNA and what we see on TV, she asked them if there was any way to look into the case again. They pulled the case out of cold storage and no DNA was available to be tested. But, they found a fingerprint. A single fingerprint. Working with the fine folks in the fingerprint lab, they found a match - now they had to find who the match belonged to. Several weeks of investigating go by, Laura repeatedly calls and the Detectives are as patient as can be with her. Ultimately, they find who the match belongs to and they call me who was their prosecutor at the time all excited, like 2 kids on Christmas. I tell them, if you find the guy and get a statement, then we can do something.  They contact him and invite him in to talk. On tape. At first he denies any such incident until they show him the fingerprint match and then he opens up and tells everything, and confesses. After 18 years, Laura's case is solved - and only because two of you out there persevered, listened, and believed that you would do good.

But it gets better. Suspect appears in court for his arraignment and of course he doesn't plea guilty right away, he, like everyone else is waiting for the better deal. But for Laura it begins the process of healing. Laura, who up until that point had never sustained any sort of relationship after that awful night in 1983, goes out with her brothers to celebrate that this case has come to justice, and that night meets Paul - who she ultimately ends up marrying. And now Laura and Paul have 2 kids with a third on the way. The happy ending and the repair and rehabilitation of Laura's life would never have been possible if not for the good you do. By treating Laura and countless other nameless people, with respect and dignity, you make their lives better.

And the story still gets better. That same suspect now 45 years old, who ultimately pled guilty and was sentenced to 20 years, ends up matching to 10 different unsolved cases in Baltimore City and County and is now serving life. And the lives of 11 people are made that much better - all because two of you did the right thing and worked hard to make a difference.

And that's what I urge you to aspire to do each and every day - make a difference.

Let me tell you all a bit about what I do now - I'm the Executive Director of the Baltimore Child Abuse Center. We are a not for profit children's advocacy center that works with a team to investigate, interview, and begin to repair the lives of every reported case of sexual child abuse in Baltimore City. Last year we interviewed 784 children. The average age was 8 years old. 76% under the age of 12; 38% of children seen were six years old or younger; 37% of children seen were boys. These are also not crimes committed by the aforementioned stranger that I described above - 55% of perpetrators were relatives or household members of the abused; 27% were other known persons - that's 82% of all sexual child abuse committed in Baltimore was by people the child knew. To put the problem in true perspective, it's estimated nationally that only 1 in 10 report they were sexually abused.

I mentioned before we work with a team - recognizing that children are among the most fragile of victims, smarter people before all of us decided 20 years ago that instead of each agency (BPD, DSS, SAO, medical professionals) conducting an investigation independently and thus having to submit a child and his family to 14 or more interviews, we'd work better together. The protocol that has existed since that day to today is that we conduct a join investigation.

If you (and sadly, when you) come across a case of suspected sexual child abuse out there in the district, don't talk to the kid. You have the chance to set in motion a process that makes all of this better for families (and not coincidentally gets you back on the street faster). You start the process by finding out the bare basics from a non offending care taker, maybe a brief question or two to the child to assess immediate safety, and then contact the child abuse unit who arranges to have the child examined and interviewed by our team of LCSWs who are trained to speak with children and find out what happened while the team, observes via closed circuit. One stop and with your help, the BCAC can conduct such an interview within 2 hours in our warm family friendly setting.

Why do I share this with you?

  • First, it tells you all what we do, so that when the case comes across your radio you know where to begin
  • It lets you know that you are a part of a much bigger team - you have great resources available to you out there, use them. At BCAC our team has the privilege of working with detectives, patrol officers, social workers, nurses, pediatricians, prosecutors, CPS workers, me, and the family all in an effort to try and solve a case, keep kids safe, and help everyone heal
  • BCAC is there for the family - we recognize (and I include our whole team, including Commissioner Bealefeld who is on our board) that it's not just an incident that happens to the child, but the entire family - its family trauma and we work together to make it better. So, remember as you patrol Baltimore's streets that it's the entire family who is affected by crime, not just the victim. Tempers will flair, people will yell, but it's their family we're talking about and if we can make it easier for the family, we will.
  • It works - I received a case once from a Detective in Child Abuse where a 9 year old year old reported she was sexually abused by an adult family member. Detective immediately set up the interview and the child, now safe in our comfortable setting, gave a complete detailed disclosure, including telling us where evidence was. Because the report and the interview are so fresh, Detective gets a search warrant and when we hit the house, the evidence of the crime was exactly where the girl said it was - DNA matched it to the defendant who was found guilty at trial and he's now serving 60 years. Again, it gets better. I find myself now Executive Director of the center and the mom gets back in touch with me, because her daughter, now an A student and a senior in high school, wants to intern with us for the semester. None of this could have happened without you as officers working as a team for the benefit of the child.

You have a tough job ahead of you. In preparation for today, after the 5 year olds provided me with just so much guidance, I spoke with som

e veteran police officers that I know. They said

  • Don't let the responsibility of the job scare you.
  • You have the backing of the team and community

I think that's great advice - it's an awesome impact you can make, but know that we're all behind you. We - the other members of the legal and law enforcement community are behind you and know you will do a great job; but more so, "We", the citizens of Baltimore to whom you represent the hope of a better tomorrow and a better Baltimore.

People out there try to make a difference in

the world.  They give to charity, they raise kids, try to be the best people they can be.  You are in the unique position to make a difference every day.  Don't let the responsibility of the job scare you, rather be the leaders that you are, and represent Baltimore's Finest.

My advice to you is to go out there and be the person my five year olds think you are.  See yourself, as they see you

  • As officers who help people and arrest bad guys,
  • As police officers who are courageous and strong and try hard to be fair

 And try every day to make the world a better place.