If you tell someone who has never been to Baltimore that you work there, chances are likely that he/she will say, “Oh yeah!…like the show ‘The Wire’, right? ‘Bodymore, Murdaland’?” The latter said with a chuckle. And understandably so. “The Wire” captivated audiences worldwide with its depiction of the city in all of its raw splendor. (I have to admit that I relished watching all 5 seasons since arriving in Baltimore.)
For those who have not seen the “The Wire”, some of the appeal is derived from the writers’ and actors’ uncanny ability to accurately portray many of the major players who weave the web of community in this town — “Smalltimore,” as it’s more endearingly known in some parts. The players include politicians and addicts, police officers and commanders, delinquents and lawyers, students and teachers; and they all seem larger than life.
Now, if you tell someone that you work at Outward Bound in Baltimore, chances are likely that you would also tell them a bit about the Police Program – partly because it’s a unique program that we deliver at the Baltimore Center and partly because there is a larger than life element to the whole dealio.
It’s hard not to believe that these programs are actually larger than life when there is a man who shows up for every program, without fail, in a 3-piece suit and a fedora to match. Adam Walinsky, former speech writer for Robert Kennedy and current community policing consultant for the Baltimore Police Department (BPD), is a throwback to the good-ol’-boy days of guerrilla politicking, with the dallying to match. He also looks more like a Telly Savalas character than Telly ever tried to be. Mr. Walinsky helps to drive the Diamond Standard Training for the BPD. The Diamond Standard has four points that highlight the complete community police officer – “No better Friend, No worse Enemy, No better Diplomat, and No better Role Model.”
Another aspect of why the program seems larger than life is because all of the major players mentioned above play a role in the program and what makes it relevant, successful and worth writing about. You never know if you might run into an Obama administration appointee, another well-heeled foundation rep, the mayor, the police commissioner, a news reporter, or even Kenja Griffin; however, the Police Program introduces a whole new player on the scene– one that “The Wire” never did – Outward Bound — in all of our compassionate splendor.
For one day of this 28-day training, Outward Bound has the pleasure of hosting approximately 35 Baltimore police officers and approximately 35 middle school students for a 1-day Insight program. On this day, we role model the positive behaviors that we teach participants in all Outward Bound programs and courses. We model these behaviors as much for the officers’ benefit as for the students’ benefit. In doing so, we build a bridge between the community and Leakin Park, the urban wilderness that serves as the Baltimore base. We build bridges between two typically distant and mistrusting parties – the police and the youth. And, we build bridges to the ever-changing future by taking part in tightening the web.
Blog Contributor: John Enny
John Enny is the Community Liaison at the Baltimore Center. He’s been living in Baltimore and working at Outward Bound for a little more than 2 years. In that time, he’s managed to “settle down” by getting married to his lovely wife, Cara, who is a teacher at an Expeditionary Learning School in the Baltimore area and by buying a house. These days…instead of planning their next big adventure, they’re planning a garden…and trying to find more ways to make every day an adventure.
