That’s not a measure to be proud of, Baltimore

It is pretty bad when you extol the virtues of Baltimore City by saying that we did not have an uptick in homicides like some other metropolitan areas did and even going so far as to propose that the minor reduction in homicides (348 in 2019 versus 335 in 2020) should be an example for others to follow, as op-ed writer Larry Gibson suggested.

I do not feel that there should be any crowing about this supposed achievement. Baltimore had 2,205 murders from 2014 to 2020, an average of 315 per year. These numbers, when taken into consideration with our decreasing population, makes Baltimore one of the deadliest cities in the United States on a per capita basis.

Mr. Gibson notes that nationwide homicides increased by 25%. He goes on to state that many cities exceeded that percentage. Cities such as Phoenix (46%), Nashville (32%), Atlanta (38%), Chicago (55%), Philadelphia (35%), Memphis (48%) and St. Louis (35%).

Only St. Louis has a higher per capita murder rate, placing it ahead of Baltimore as the deadliest city in America. If you take St. Louis out of the mix, and Baltimore’s per capita murder rate matched those of the cities listed, our number of murders, respectively, would be 54, 95, 161, 170, 182, 259.

Mr. Gibson says that each of these murders was a tragedy to families and communities. I agree that each occurrence was a tragedy for a family, however some of these victims probably brought a sense of relief to the communities that they had been terrorizing with their illicit activities.

While I am aware that some of these murders are cases of mistaken identity, innocents caught by a stray bullet, or settlement of a personal dispute, the vast majority of these are related to the drug trade and turf wars related to it. Until we take the profit out of such illegal activities, there will be no end to those murders.

Mr. Gibson says that perhaps City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s strategic decisions to not prosecute certain nonviolent crimes is allowing her to focus on violent criminals. If that is the case, why is the rate of conviction so low in relation to the number of murders?

This social experiment gives the impression, and rightfully so, that Baltimore is open for business to drug sales, prostitution and other crimes that Ms. Mosby in her self-appointed role of judge and jury, has deemed unworthy of her time. These are quality of life crimes that do matter to the citizens of Baltimore.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons for our perpetual declining population. In 2010, Baltimore’s population was 620,961. In 2020, it was 593,490 — a loss of more than 27,000 residents over a 10-year period.

So, perhaps it would be better if we hold off on asking other metropolitan areas to emulate Baltimore. We need to get our own house in order before instructing others, and we are far from accomplishing that task.