With 43 homicides, May is the deadliest month since the early 1970s, when 44 people were killed in December 1971 and 45 people in August 1972, according to the Baltimore Sun.
There have been 116 homicides in Baltimore in 2015. By this time last year, homicides hadn’t hit triple digits. As homicides rose in May, the number of arrests plummeted.
Some attribute the drop to increased scrutiny of police following the April death of Freddie Gray from injuries received in police custody.
Commentators claim “criminals are feeling empowered” as police back off after months of protest and violent crime rises.
Heather Mac Donald, author of “Are Cops Racist?,” wrote in The Wall Street Journal, that arrest slowdowns in major cities like Baltimore comes as police are more and more tentative about enforcing crime, in case they get indicted or publicly demonized.
The problem with these assumptions is that there is no clear causal explanation for the pattern of violent crime.
A number of factors could cause a spike in violence including the weather.
Many law enforcement departments across the country report increases in crime during warm weather months as the number of social interactions increase.
Laura Brinkman, associate director at the University of Chicago Crime Lab says there are other reasons why violence increases, especially street violence, muggings, assaults, battery during warmer months.
“For example, it could be that it’s not the weather, but the academic summer break that leads to a spike in violent crime,” Brinkman says. “Juveniles are the most likely to commit crime, in general, so it seems almost obvious that crime may peak during summer months when students are off from school with idle hands.”
What message is society sending if it attributes civil rights protests to police not making arrests? Are commentators saying the U.S. Constitution should not be upheld and there should not be reform of the criminal justice system because officers may feel discouraged and not uphold their sworn oath to serve and protect the public?
The majority of protesters are not anti-police; they are anti-police abuse.
Are commentators seeking to exploit the rise in violence in Baltimore and other cities to muzzle legitimate protest?
Regardless of the reason behind the violence, law enforcement should provide extra resources in areas with the highest amounts of crime.
Additional patrols in high-risk areas, shortening response time to calls for service during times when criminal activity is most pronounced may also help.
Police departments and the communities need to come together to improve public safety and fight for justice.
https://www.phillytrib.com/commentary/dangerous-ideas-on-violence/article_d9095533-e7a7-5617-b936-34ac1c2168b6.html