Apr 29 2008
The Perception of Crime in Baltimore - Could the End of HBO’s “The Wire” be the End of an Era?
Fred Bealefeld, the (relatively) newly appointed Baltimore Police Commissioner, addressed the Rotary Club of Baltimore today, painting himself as an optimist but also a realist at the same time. Commissioner Bealefeld seems like the right man for the right time in Baltimore. The City, who’s success is closely dependant upon the health of the city itself, has largely been measured against it’s fluctuations in crime rates.
Bealefeld though thinks that the perception of crime might actually have a contributing factor. For instance for the past few years, crime in Baltimore has been the focus of two elections, tons of media attention, and an entire HBO series (The Wire). All that negative perception in many ways makes the problem worse….people care less and people think it’s normal to commit a crime. In fact, Bealefeld said, the perception of crime in Baltimore outstrips the actual crime committed. An example of this entails a comparison between Baltimore and LA. Both cities have experienced a similar drop in violent crime over the last 4-5 years. LA has been lauded for their efforts. Baltimore is still being criticized.
With the conclusion of The Wire and less media attention on Baltimore’s crime, that perception might be changing. In fact, a recent Baltimore Sun article glowed that the murder rate for the 1st quarter of 2008 had been the lowest in decades.
Now that the Police Department can spend less time defending from media attacks and critics, perhaps they can focus on more crime fighting initiatives. The department’s focus on gun offenders and community policing seem to be paying off.
Bealefeld seems confident that we’ll continue to hear good news about crime in Baltimore. In fact, he mentioned that we’ll be hearing some positive news within the next 24-48 hours. Just think how nice it’ll be to turn on the local news if things continue to improve. Some say it’s a fluke, some say the numbers are faked, I say keep up the good work!
3 Comments to “The Perception of Crime in Baltimore - Could the End of HBO’s “The Wire” be the End of an Era?”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Loading ...
Let’s hope it’s true. My primary concern about crime in Baltimore is not how it’s perceived by those outside the city, but rather how safe or unsafe it actually is. If I don’t have to worry about my friends or family getting robbed - then Hollywood can churn out as many Baltimore crime “dramas” as they see fit. As long as the city is generally safe. Unfortunately were a long way from that. But then again so is almost any major city. Let’s hope the early numbers are indicative of a longer trend for 2008.
I attended a ULI event with the Commissioner and he is a compelling speaker. The thing to me that he said that drove home his point was his expression of frustration of the police officers that tell the victims of the crime that crime is the reason the cops don’t live in the city. “That’s why I don’t live in the city”…… So if the force has no faith in the City as a safe place, with the safety being placed in their hands, when how are we supposed to feel safe. He said that is in his control and he will be working on that. A similar incident happened the other day with DPW Workers. Our water turned brown because of the cleaning and lining project going on in SOBO. The worker came to our door and told my wife that they live in the city and would never drink the water.
Regardless, I still think more police on the streets will help the perception and we need to find a way to get the city to patrol the good parts of town better.
valid point sobojeff. The city doesn’t trust(see: believe in) the city. This just reinforces my natural distrust of police. Do we really want them living here? Police readily and repeatedly prove that there is no amount of power too small to corrupt. Next stop; tasers.