[BALTIMORESUN] Is the drastic drop in the number of arrests in Baltimore responsible for the increase in violent crime in the weeks since the post-Freddie Gray riots? We can't know for sure, and indeed, the evidence of a direct correlation between the number of arrests and the number of shootings and murders in Baltimore is scant. During the last 15 years, we saw crime go down amid an increase in arrests — and then we saw crime go down even further at a time when the number of arrests dropped. But one thing should at this point be certain: Something has changed during the last six weeks in the way police are doing their jobs, and neither the leadership in the police department nor in City Hall seems willing to fully acknowledge it, much less address it.
More blather from the Baldymore Sun's editorial writer. What's happening is that the cops are still doing their jobs, but they're doing it a lot more carefully. The city administration has shown it's willing to toss its policemen to whatever wolves happen to be howling. The city's tax-paying citizens are there to be milked, whether by the municipal administration or the feral denizens of the west side. The citizens continue voting with their feet. |