By LUKE BROADWATER and IAN DUNCAN
THE BALTIMORE SUN |
SEP 25, 2018 | 6:55 PM
Baltimore had the worst homicide rate among the nation’s 50 largest cities last year and the second-highest violent crime rate overall, according to new data from the FBI.
The grim news was the latest reminder of the sustained cycle of violence that has gripped the city since 2015, when the annual number of homicides soared above 300 for three consecutive years after the unrest that followed Freddie Gray’s death from injuries suffered in police custody.
Baltimore’s current Carnival of Murder can be timed precisely to Black Lives Matter’s Freddie Gray memorial riot in downtown Baltimore on April 27, 2015.
There were 342 homicides in Baltimore last year, 56 per 100,000 people who live in the city. That’s the highest per capita in the city’s history and, according to the FBI report Monday, the highest rate of any American city with more than 500,000 people. It’s also significantly higher than the rate in other big cities.
Detroit, which had the highest overall violent crime rate for 2017, ranked No. 2 in homicides, with 40 per 100,000 people. Memphis, Tenn., followed (28 homicides per 100,000), then Chicago (24 per 100,000), Philadelphia (20 per 100,000) and Milwaukee (20 per 100,000).
Baltimore’s replication of the Ferguson Effect is one of the more memorable in the history of the social sciences.
Here is the rolling average of homicides per previous 365 days. The Red Dot represents Freddie Gray Day, April 27, 2015 when Black Lives Matter rioted, the mayor said they need their space, and the cops semi-permanently retreated to the donut shop.
