Crime is out of control in Baltimore City.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Nothing is more devastating to a community than out-of-control crime.
It's hard for me to view Baltimore outside the context of what Baltimore has always been in my mind: a violent place.
In fact, even the perception of a resurgence in crime can be enough to paralyze business momentum and destroy the sense of security that a vibrant and progressive city requires.
It seems that in Baltimore, one of the most violent cities in America, jurors are far more reluctant to convict criminal defendants than in the suburban enclaves that ring the city.
Fighting crime requires a partnership between the police and the community. And we all know that this partnership has been tested in Chicago. It is a problem that has festered in this city for decades.
I did not dedicate my life to making Baltimore a safer and more just place because it was easy.
Some people see Baltimore as a hopeless place. Some have even made a lot of money on it.
There is no city in America that has reduced crime as much as we have in the last three years. This is not the product of accident. This is the product of design.
Between 1999 and 2009, the people of Baltimore achieved the greatest reduction in crime of America's largest cities.
Police reform is working, and crime is falling.