Long plagued by rampant gun violence, Baltimore recorded less than 300 homicides last year for the first time in nearly a decade, ending a surge that began in 2015 following the death of Freddie Gray, which sparked civil unrest and prompted widespread calls for police reform.
The 20% annual decrease, which city leaders called the largest ever, suggests Baltimore’s ongoing anti-violence efforts are working.
“We’re finally seeing those efforts paying off and saving lives,” Mayor Brandon Scott said at a news conference earlier this week.
To some extent, Baltimore’s 2023 data is reflected nationwide as many cities have reported declines over the past several months following a pandemic peak.
Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast series on guns sheds some light on the phenomenon: despite the increase in guns and gun violence, doctors in the U.S. have become increasingly specialized in saving gunshot victims, which essentially turns a homicide into an assault (and police don’t categorize gun violence separately from assault). There’s also some progress being made to build more trauma centers closer to high risk areas of the U.S., which has been a big problem in more violent cities.
Man, talk about treating the symptom and not the disease
Yeah, just think - we could not only protect more lives, we could be having doctors suit better purposes if we started treating guns like, y’know, abortion in Texas. A bit depressing.