Is Baltimore getting safer?
by Lori Barrett | June 29, 2008 at 9:06 am
Posted in baltimore crime
That’s essentially the question posed in an article in today’s Sun.
We all know that the homicide rate is at its lowest since 1988 — a statistic that is mentioned in nearly every recent article involving crime. This year so far, there have been 104 homicides in Baltimore City (a number which may have already changed by the time you read this) compared to 153 last year. Shootings are also down (surprising to me, considering how many of them are in the news): 266 this year versus 361 last year.
Not all is good news, however. Assaults, rapes, and robberies are holding steady or even slightly increased compared to 2007.
In the Sun article, one criminal justice professor (from New York) said of these numbers: “There is something really special going on in Baltimore…. You don’t get rid of 50 homicides without something fundamental going on.”
The Police Commissioner and Mayor are quick to credit a change in direction, in which the police are focusing intensely on the city’s most violent criminals. The Violent Crime Impact Division was formed last year, made up of 250 officers who target their district’s “most-wanted” criminals.
The reaction to this approach by neighborhood residents is mixed. Some are excited to be able to sit on their porches at night; others feel unfairly targeted. In Barclay, one group of men smoking outside a Narcotics Anonymous meeting said they are often harassed by police just for standing there.
Speaking on this year’s low numbers, the police commissioner said: “If we post this result and it holds up to the end of the year, people will be happy,” although he also questioned the sustainability of the low rate.
If December 31st comes around and only 200-ish people have been killed in our city, will that make you happy? (It’s an interesting choice of emotion.) Or is this year is a fluke, with 2009 doomed to be more of the same (i.e., 350+ homicides)?
Or are you one of Baltimore’s last true optimists — is our city finally moving in the right direction?
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
June 29th, 2008 at 10:49 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Optimist or not you have to look at things for what they are. Everything happens in trends and waves, so if crime runs at a high for a few years the only thing left to do is go down. The goal though is for that down swing to be maintained. I do whole heartedly appreciate what our police force accomplishes even as critical as I may be sometimes. So let me be the first here to say keep the good work up and the death tolls down.
June 30th, 2008 at 3:17 am | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Quick! The Mayor is in trouble. ALL SUN REPORTERS - we need fluff and we need it NOW! Get me some headlines that will make her look human and like she's doing a great job.
June 30th, 2008 at 11:35 am | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Sure the police are doing a great job, they always have. It is a job i sure wouldn't want. But i don't see how they have anything to do with the slight drop in homocides. I mean if thug drug dealers wanna kill each other they certainly aren't going to worry about any new police initiatives, gun bans, etc.
If anything I would say our excellent shock trauma units in Baltimore are more responsible.
And if we do only have 200 murders that is still an insane number and no i don't think this city is any safer and maybe less safe than it was last year.
June 30th, 2008 at 2:07 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Agree with Woodchuck. Although the decline is promising, we shouldn't be celebrating that figure. By population our city is still way out of control when compared with other larger cities.
Besides, I heard that the new homicide stats are cooked anyway.
!
June 30th, 2008 at 3:13 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
The NEW homicide stats are cooked?
The OLD ones were cooked.
They are all cooked.
June 30th, 2008 at 6:09 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
I have always had the question about the murder rates in Baltimore and how skewed those numbers are. We live in the city with arguably the best medical attention in the country. So my question really is how many people who were suppose to be murdered and were saved by shock trauma or the great work done at Hopkins, Mercy, or the other GREAT hospitals in Baltimore? Is the murder rate down or is the GREAT medical care helping to save more people?
June 30th, 2008 at 6:21 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Now I can't say if they are or aren't fudged numbers but if you look at it by comparison, it's a lot more people getting shot at or just shot and living rather than dying. Now I guess you can chalk that up as poor marksmenship. And yeah I wouldn't say that it would make you feel any safer. But being a Baltimore resident for most of my life I know that being cautious of ones own surroundings is the easiest way to feel "safe".