As Baltimore's homicide rate climbs, DC's plummets.

[MontanaJack]

http://www.baltimorebrew.com/2012/11...rders-plummet/

While yesterday marked the 200th homicide in Baltimore – a 22-year-old shot multiple times next to a Sandtown-Winchester liquor store – the District of Columbia has registered fewer than 80 slayings.

Crazy. Has Baltimore just given up?

[dogstarman]

I don't think so. As much as many of the people on here are eager to say Baltimore is in a permanent downward spiral, the stats for crime (including murder) have improved over the last decade.

The cause for that is systematic gentrification. DC beats us, because of their much more rapid pace of gentrification as well as deep pockets of wealth and all that such wealth brings with it. Baltimore, like many of the old rust-belt cities, still has deep pockets of poverty.

It would be foolish to suggest that "Baltimore has given up" simply because of a one year statistical fluctuation in murder-rate-- an intrinsically noisy number.

[genghiskhanraven]

Being poor doesn't cause people to murder each other

[dogstarman]

Being poor doesn't cause people to murder each other

I agree, but large-scale poverty makes positive change much harder.

Murder rate, in particular, is driven almost entirely by the drug trade and the lifestyle that goes along with it in this town. The drug trade thrives on poverty. Places where people are gainfully employed generally don't have a "street" problem with crack, heroin, or whatever drug.

[Jeebus]

Three more murders last night in Baltimore.

One was a 16-year old kid.

No one cares, because:

A) - The victim was black,

and

B) - The killer was black.

Move along, nothing to see.

[dogstarman]

Three more murders last night in Baltimore.

One was a 16-year old kid.

No one cares, because:

A) - The victim was black,

and

B) - The killer was black.

Move along, nothing to see.

For some of us at least, this is less a matter of race and more of a consideration about the background of the prep and victim.

To be callous, yes, I really don't give a damn if someone with an extensive criminal record was shot-to-death after, for instance, an altercation at 2AM in front of a liquor store in a drug-infested neighborhood.

[bmore_ken]

For some of us at least, this is less a matter of race and more of a consideration about the background of the prep and victim.

To be callous, yes, I really don't give a damn if someone with an extensive criminal record was shot-to-death after, for instance, an altercation at 2AM in front of a liquor store in a drug-infested neighborhood.

Exactly it's not a race thing, it's a criminal thing fueled by poverty. Why would or should any of us care if one criminal kills another?

[Internet]

The problem here is that if you kill someone and its your first offense, its treated as a speeding ticket.... whereas in DC you are probably looking at 10+ years.

[dogstarman]

Exactly it's not a race thing, it's a criminal thing fueled by poverty. Why would or should any of us care if one criminal kills another?

Of course, it does matter but there has to be some perspective too.

If you're trying to assess the actual public safety of law-abiding normal folks, the murder rate sucks as a statistic. Property crime and robberies are far more valuable.

I would even argue that one is at least as likely to get mugged in DC than in Baltimore.

[dogstarman]

The problem here is that if you kill someone and its your first offense, its treated as a speeding ticket.... whereas in DC you are probably looking at 10+ years.

Murder is almost never a first offense. It is the "culmination" of a long criminal history.

As was demonstrated in NYC in the 90's, the way to deal with murder rate effectively, is not really to "get tough" on murderers after their murder conviction (by definition that is too late). The way to do it is to effectively prosecute, punish and rehabilitate offenders of much lesser crimes especially juvenile offenders.

These are the people that end-up committing murder. And by the time they actually commit a murder they're too far into the lifestyle to give a damn, nor will their prosecution or even execution do _anything_ to deter future murderers.

[Jeebus]

Why would or should any of us care if one criminal kills another?

I would ask the same thing,

Except we've got a 90 page thread here with almost 1,800 replies for that exact situation, albeit happened in Sanford Florida.

[soulflower]

For some of us at least, this is less a matter of race and more of a consideration about the background of the prep and victim.

To be callous, yes, I really don't give a damn if someone with an extensive criminal record was shot-to-death after, for instance, an altercation at 2AM in front of a liquor store in a drug-infested neighborhood.

I'm saddened anytime a juvenile is involved in one of these homicides regardless of the circumstances.

Part of the problem is that society has become numb to this kind of violence. Therefore, in some ways the violence is acceptable and the value of human life is lessened...

[Marshan Man]

I would ask the same thing,

Except we've got a 90 page thread here with almost 1,800 replies for that exact situation, albeit happened in Sanford Florida.

Is it possible to have an honest earnest discussion with you? Or do you find that when that's the case you generally have nothing to say?

[bmore_ken]

I would ask the same thing,

Except we've got a 90 page thread here with almost 1,800 replies for that exact situation, albeit happened in Sanford Florida.

Neither of those two were involved in a criminal act prior to that incident. Bad example

[MDvet]

I'm saddened anytime a juvenile is involved in one of these homicides regardless of the circumstances.

Part of the problem is that society has become numb to this kind of violence. Therefore, in some ways the violence is acceptable and the value of human life is lessened...

Different parts of the society

If a kid in suburb is involved in a homicide, it will be a front page news and signficant community reaction

If a kid in the city is involved in a homicide, just another day.

[bmore_ken]

Different parts of the society

If a kid in suburb is involved in a homicide, it will be a front page news and signficant community reaction

If a kid in the city is involved in a homicide, just another day.

The kid in the suburb is generally not in the drug trade

[musicmd]

The problem here is that if you kill someone and its your first offense, its treated as a speeding ticket.... whereas in DC you are probably looking at 10+ years.

Care to back it up.

[bmore_ken]

Care to back it up.

I didn't even want to open that can of worms

[BlandFood]

And the moral of the story is........... DC animals are more civilized than those in Baltimore?

Another possibility is..... more of their animals now live in PG and Montgomery which also were good areas not so long ago?

[soulflower]

The kid in the suburb is generally not in the drug trade

You'd be surprised by how rampant drug use is in the suburbs. The drug trade in suburban areas gets less attention because there is far less violent crime associated with it...