Review of dismissed Md. rapes urged

Baltimore's top prosecutor and City Council president say an outside agency should investigate rape reports that have been dismissed as unfounded by city police.

The Baltimore Sun reported in June that over the past five years, city police have concluded rape allegations are false or baseless more than 30 percent of the time.

That's five times the national average, and the report led to criticism that city police are dismissive of sexual assault victims.

A task force selected by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is reviewing rape investigations, but the group includes city police and prosecutors.

State's Attorney Patricia Jessamy and City Council President Jack Young say the task force isn't independent enough and an outside agency should handle the review.

-- The Baltimore Sun