It's the deadliest month Baltimore has seen in more than 15 years. More than two dozen shootings over the holiday weekend alone have city police working around the clock. ...
From West Baltimore, to the East Side, Govans, to Reservoir Hill, a spike in weekend violence is plaguing all parts of the city. Over the Memorial Day Weekend alone, city police report 28 shootings and 9 homicides.
It is no coincidence, of course, that May was the deadliest month in more than 15 years, i.e. since the 1990s. Violent crime in the U.S. peaked during the mid-1990s, and since then has been cut approximately in half, largely as a result of more aggressive law enforcement techniques that were pioneered in New York City. When the police are seen to be hamstrung, criminals seize the opportunity, as they did decades ago.
Speaking of New York, the Post reports that homicides are up 45%. Mayor de Blasio campaigned on a promise to do away with stop-and-frisk. He has made good on that promise, and the result is more dead New Yorkers:
Murders are way up so far this year in Manhattan, The Post has learned. Sixteen people were killed around the borough between the first of the year and Sunday. Over the same period last year, the figure was 11. That's an increase of about 45 percent.
Shootings in the borough have also soared. There have been 50 "shooting incidents" since Jan. 1, compared with 31 in the same time period in 2014 -- an increase of about 38 percent. Some of these "incidents" involved more than one victim. The number of shooting victims nearly doubled, from 33 to 61.
Congratulations, Mayor de Blasio! De Blasio is now running for president, or something, so maybe someone will fill him in on the numbers next time he passes through the city...
Another place where there has been a massive attack on law enforcement is Ferguson, Missouri, which is about eight miles from St. Louis. What has happened to the homicide rate in St. Louis? KMOV reports:
Twenty people were killed in St. Louis City throughout the month of April, bringing the yearly total homicide count to 60. ...
According to officials, the number of homicides at this point in the year has doubled over the past two years.
St. Louis City Police said crime is up across the board. There has been a 43 percent increase in robberies, 15 percent increase in aggravated assaults and 40 percent increase in aggravated assaults with a gun. Burglary, larceny and car thefts are up a combined 17 percent, according to police.
It is really quite extraordinary. Violent crime rose until the mid-1990s, when the public demanded a widespread police crackdown that proved immensely successful. Homicide rates declined nationwide by around 50%, and there were similar drops in robbery, rape, aggravated assault and other violent crimes. QED: America had learned how to combat violent crime. But now that lesson has been unlearned, as liberals have concluded that police forces are to blame for the ills of inner-city America. The resulting attack on law enforcement has crippled multiple police forces' ability to fight crime aggressively. So, what has happened? In areas where liberals have seized control and attacked the police, violent crime appears to be returning to its mid-1990s level.
This is an important story, Bill, and I am glad you are following it closely. The NYC spike involves a very small number (though it still bears watching), and the numbers in the other cities are especially important to continue to watch closely. Notably, Rand Paul was in Chicago talking about black victims as part of the black lives matter narrative, and I hope other Prez candidates have the courage to stress these matters, too. The polarization in this space is now doing more to hurt everyone.
So, Doug, do you believe that the anti-cop rhetoric that is being spread by many in the media is, as Bill suggests, a/the cause of the upswing in black-on-black violent crime?
Funny that Chicago came up. Over the weekend, there were 56 reported shootings, with 12 homicides included in that number. And, of course, the knee-jerk reaction from his honor? We need more gun control, in the city with such stringent controls on handgun possession now that off-duty cops from the suburbs attending court or shopping in Chicago leave their weapons home. Of course, the mayor has 24 hour armed police protection for himself and his house, no trespassing or driving signs on his street, etc.
All of the anti-police rhetoric affects not only the street cops, but also emboldens the hoodlums, who think - or know - they can take more chances, range farther and in a wider type of neighborhood without being challenged, engage in more aggressive behavior, etc.
BTW, in NYC's 24th Precinct, around Central Park, once a place where no sane person walked after dark and only in groups even in daylight, robberies are up about 25% this year. Geez, there's another surprise, eh?
I strongly believe that anti-cop rhetoric and feelings, from whatever source, are very bad for civil society, and I do find important and worth closely watching correlations between anti-cop rhetoric and uptick in violence. I find especially valuable that Bill and others on the right are highlighting that a true commitment to a black lives matter narrative would be much more focused on black on black crime than on police abuse.
That all said, I think the need for police to be persistent soldier in an extended drug war feed too much of anti crime sentiments. This is why I think marijuana reform, drug sentencing reform and a concerted effort to move to public health models for drug use and abuse may be the most long-term effective reform in this space to allow us to truly focus on the crimes and criminals that should be the priority and should help create better relationships between police and members of policed communities.