Murder Rate

Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III, the longest-serving commissioner in the city's recent history and who oversaw steep declines in the city's murder rate, is stepping down, the mayor's office announced. Bealefeld's retirement date is effective August 1, the sources said, but he still stay on and oversee a transition. A senior aide to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Bealefeld informed of her of his decision today and said he wanted to spend more time with his family.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III, the longest-serving commissioner in the city's recent history and who oversaw steep declines in the city's murder rate, is stepping down, the mayor's office announced. Bealefeld's retirement date is effective August 1, the sources said, but he still stay on and oversee a transition. A senior aide to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said Bealefeld informed of her of his decision today and said he wanted to spend more time with his family.

The Sun should be commended for publishing such an extensive article on the "right to carry" laws in Maryland and putting it in clear terms that anyone can understand ("Gun laws' sketchy effect," March 11). The bottom line, according to the academics, is that restrictions or a lack of restrictions make no difference. However, it's complicated because on one hand, "the right to carry" concealed guns does decrease the murder rates and on the other hand, "the right to carry" will "slightly increase the number of aggravated assaults.

The Sun should be commended for publishing such an extensive article on the "right to carry" laws in Maryland and putting it in clear terms that anyone can understand ("Gun laws' sketchy effect," March 11). The bottom line, according to the academics, is that restrictions or a lack of restrictions make no difference. However, it's complicated because on one hand, "the right to carry" concealed guns does decrease the murder rates and on the other hand, "the right to carry" will "slightly increase the number of aggravated assaults.

Too emotional teen-ager . . .Live wire that splitsa smut-thick sky.Sees a capital punishment, then kills.And we dare ask why.See this pain-soaked child . . .Grab men and women,Hold them dear,Make them fat and frightened,Cook them in the chair.Murder rate, murder rate . . .Back and forth again.A wind that turns around at night;Will it ever end?

Peter Hermann 's story on Baltimore murders accurately described the challenges the city faces even as violence there has dropped ("Baltimore murder victims, suspects share ties to criminal justice system," Jan. 2). However, the progress has also allowed Gov. Martin O'Malley to declare that his Violence Prevention Initiative was responsible for the decline - an overreaching claim that flies in the face of data. Baltimore's murder rate has been decreasing for more than a decade, closely tracking a national trend, and it began dropping long before the governor's initiative was launched.

Baltimore's murder rate continued its steady increase during the first half of 1991, when 148 persons were killed -- 15 more than during the same period last year.The violence fell particularly hard on the city's black community: 9 of 10 of Baltimore's homicide victims during the first half of the year were black, and one third of those killed in the city were black men between the ages of 20 and 29."It's just not something we can stop before it occurs," said Dennis S. Hill, a Police Department spokesman.

WASHINGTON -- A study released yesterday shows that the country's murder rate is about the same as it was six decades ago and that the rate for minorities has actually decreased in the past two decades.But the homicide rate for children under 14 is "at or near record highs for the post-World War II era," the study said. And rates for preschoolers 4 and younger have risen to their highest levels in 40 years."The fears that we're losing our youth to violence is true," said Carol J. De Vita, director of publications for the Population Reference Bureau, a nonprofit research group that conducted the study.

We're embarrassed, aren't we? We're so embarrassed we don't know quite what to say.That's the answer to an ugly little question being asked a lot these days: Why do we get into such an uproar every time some foreigner gets plunked in Florida when scores of actual Americans are being murdered nationwide every day, virtually without notice?We're embarrassed, all right.In America, we are very serious about how wonderful it is to be an American. This is the country where it is, well, un-American to suggest that the U.S.A.

THE NUMBER 300 hung in the air as Christmas approached, nervously watched by a city trapped in a race between time and death. For eight straight years, Baltimore's homicide rate had topped the 300 mark, and it seemed inevitable that 1998 would become the ninth.No. 299 came on the morning of Thursday, Dec. 17, and for several days, there was quiet. But the lull did not comfort grizzled homicide investigators. For them, the question was not ``if'' another body would fall, but ``when.''They did not have to wait long.

In D.C., Chief Cathy L. Lanier is getting some heat for what the Washington Post reports is a "statistical mishmash" regarding the Metropolitan Police Department's sparkling homicide clearance rate of 94 percent of its 108 killings. As it turns out, many of the closed cases are from previous years: In Baltimore, this revelation is not new or surprising, but it's worth reminding the public how the process works. First, here's some snippets from the Post article: A 94 percent closure rate would mean that detectives solved 102 of them.

Peter Hermann 's story on Baltimore murders accurately described the challenges the city faces even as violence there has dropped ("Baltimore murder victims, suspects share ties to criminal justice system," Jan. 2). However, the progress has also allowed Gov. Martin O'Malley to declare that his Violence Prevention Initiative was responsible for the decline - an overreaching claim that flies in the face of data. Baltimore's murder rate has been decreasing for more than a decade, closely tracking a national trend, and it began dropping long before the governor's initiative was launched.

Despite a nearly across-the-board decline in crime, Baltimore maintained the fifth-highest homicide rate in the country last year, according to preliminary data released Monday by the FBI. Nationwide, crime dropped for the fourth straight year, continuing to defy predictions that crime would rise during a recession. Violent crime declined 5.5 percent last year compared with 2009, while property crimes dropped 2.8 percent. In Baltimore, violent crime declined 3.6 percent, and the city ranked seventh in violent crime per 100,000 residents.

According to a recent filing by Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, in response to the pending case Woolard vs. Sheridan, pertaining to Marylanders' Second Amendment rights, he points to the high handgun violence and murder rate in Baltimore as logical and sound reasoning for denying the rest of Maryland their right to carry a concealed firearm for their personal protection. He further contends that the state is not denying our rights, since all Marylanders can legally open carry a long gun (rifle)

The mayor confronted a citizen at a community meeting. "Is there any crime in your neighborhood?" the chief executive asked. "Oh yea, it's terrible," the man replied. Said the mayor: "Well, what specifically? Has anything happened to you or to your wife? A neighbor?" Said the man: "No. But the morning paper is full of it." The man wasn't identified in the editorial published in The Baltimore Sun that recounted this conversation. The mayor was William Donald Schaefer.

All Marylanders should note the good news about Maryland's 30-year low in violent crime. ("This is progress," May 11). Even more striking is the 12 percent reduction in the murder rate. Many factors come into play to reduce crime and violence. Local law enforcement certainly deserves much credit, but so does the leadership at the top of our state. Maryland has been among the top 10 most violent states for far too long. This is changing thanks to effective, statewide strategies fostering cooperation between local, state and federal crime reduction efforts.

According to a recent filing by Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, in response to the pending case Woolard vs. Sheridan, pertaining to Marylanders' Second Amendment rights, he points to the high handgun violence and murder rate in Baltimore as logical and sound reasoning for denying the rest of Maryland their right to carry a concealed firearm for their personal protection. He further contends that the state is not denying our rights, since all Marylanders can legally open carry a long gun (rifle)

It was disheartening that the top story in Tuesday's Baltimore Sun was not the rising homicide rate but lowering assessments. The lack of focus on the fundamental issue of violence hinders progress in the city by pretending it isn't there. Presenting the murders as isolated incidents rather than part of a larger, systemic problem does not help us understand, analyze or stop the violence. The murder rate, about half the rate of New York City - which has 8.5 million, or 13 times the number of people in Baltimore and which announced today the fewest homicides on record - should be a central issue for all of Baltimore and front-page news.

It was disheartening that the top story in Tuesday's Baltimore Sun was not the rising homicide rate but lowering assessments. The lack of focus on the fundamental issue of violence hinders progress in the city by pretending it isn't there. Presenting the murders as isolated incidents rather than part of a larger, systemic problem does not help us understand, analyze or stop the violence. The murder rate, about half the rate of New York City - which has 8.5 million, or 13 times the number of people in Baltimore and which announced today the fewest homicides on record - should be a central issue for all of Baltimore and front-page news.

The Democratic theme song is "Happy Days Are Here Again," and nowhere do Democrats think that axiom applies better than in the realm of fighting crime. They recall that thanks to legislation passed in 1994, Bill Clinton put 100,000 new cops on the street, and the result was an abatement of violence. Give Democrats their way, they suggest, and we can repeat that success. Leading the charge is Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, who sponsored that bill and is pushing legislation to hire another 50,000 officers, at a cost of $3.6 billion over six years, under the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)