"Moral Midgetry" is the eighth episode of the third season of the HBO original series The Wire. The episode was written by Richard Price from a story by David Simon & Richard Price and was directed by Agnieszka Holland. It originally aired on November 14, 2004. Plot During a subcommittee hearing, Carcetti expresses concern that the impressive reduction in crime from the Western may be a misrepresentation. He further lays into Burrell about the ongoing problems in the city's witness protection program, ignoring advice from both Gray and D'Agostino. At a dinner with Carcetti and his wife, D'Agostino chastises Carcetti for his short-sightedness in using facts to win arguments instead of an inspiring message, and arranges for Carcetti to get coaching to improve his demeanor. In Hamsterdam, one of the drug dealers is tricked into going into one of the vacant buildings where he is assaulted, bound, gagged, and robbed. He sees several other dealers have fallen for the same ploy. Once the stick-up crew has left, the dealers manage to escape and alert the police. The dealers plead with Carver, Herc and Colicchio that if they are not allowed to carry weapons, then the police should guard them against stick-ups. Elsewhere, Colvin takes his friend the Deacon on a tour of the improved neighborhood, then brings him into Hamsterdam. Colvin suggests to Carver that he pay the young lookouts to act as auxiliary police and watch for trouble. The Deacon, disgusted by Hamsterdam, cannot be convinced that Colvin's scheme is a good idea. He asks Colvin to provide clean water, needles, condoms and treatment centers now that the addicts have been concentrated into one place. Over drinks, Carver, Herc, Colicchio, and Truck debate the merits of Hamsterdam. Cutty helps the Deacon load boxes into a car, saying he needs to occupy himself to stay straight. A community leader named Roman meets with both men, suggesting they hold a basketball tournament to keep Hamsterdam's restless boys occupied. When Cutty tells the Deacon he is more experienced as a boxer, Roman suggests an abandoned gym that the kids can use. When Roman presents Cutty with a disused gym, Cutty resolves to fix it up himself, pleased to have something to work on. Colvin leaves a meeting with the Deacon to attend a ComStat briefing, where Rawls insinuates Colvin is altering his reports to get his significantly lowered crime figures and asks