Are Things Getting Back to ‘Normal’ in Baltimore?

Enjoy it while you can, Baltimore. The riots haven’t ended, they’ve merely been postponed.

We are told that things are getting back to normal in Baltimore. This is not an unmixed blessing.

Yes, the rioters have put down their bricks, their Molotov cocktails, and all their many other implements of destruction (at least for the time being), and when one compares the present state of the city to the chaos seen last week, one can say things have improved. But after the great collective sigh of relief goes out, Baltimoreans must now reckon with the meaning of the word “normal” as it applies to their city. Indeed, what is normal in Baltimore would be cause for great alarm in almost any other city you could name.

According to Marketwatch.com, Baltimore comes in at seventh place on its list of the most dangerous cities in America, with a violent crime rate of 1,401 per 100,000 residents (figures are from 2013). And given the spectacle we’ve just witnessed in Baltimore, and the vulgar circus we’re likely to see as the six police officers accused in the death of Freddie Gray are prosecuted, and the near certainty that none of these officers will ever be convicted of anything, and the equally likely reaction that will follow the collapse of the prosecution’s case, do you suppose the Charm City will move to a higher or lower position on that list the next time it’s published?

Granted, Baltimore is unlikely to dislodge perennial list-leader Detroit (2,072 violent crimes per 100,000 residents) from the top spot, but it’s within easy reach of Little Rock (1,407) and Cleveland (1,478). And this year Baltimore might even surpass fourth-place St. Louis (1,594). According to a database maintained by the Baltimore Sun, there have been 81 homicides this year as of May 7. There were 211 in all of 2014, so it would appear the bodies have been dropping this year at a pace just slightly ahead of last year’s. Expect that pace to accelerate.

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