A very predictable thing has happened in Baltimore. It was so predictable, in fact, that even I predicted it, on these pages, some weeks ago. In reaction to the anti-police political climate (following the race riots and the charging of six officers with “murder”), police are stepping back. The number of arrests being made in Baltimore has gone way down (May 2015 has had fewer than half as many as normal), and murders have gone way up (May 2015 is Baltimore’s deadliest month since the 1990s). It’s reasonable to presume that one follows the other.
A Baltimore policeman will feel that it’s better, in the present political climate, to just let things slide and not try too hard. Why chase down this suspect who, I expect, will violently resist? If he ends up injured or worse in the affair, the agitators will start chattering away about more Racist Police Terror. The media will get on board. Political lynch mob will form. Dark clouds. Could lose my job. Could even go to prison. Destroyed reputation: “Hey, aren’t you that racist police guy who beat up that unarmed kid?” No, let’s just drive on.
Who can blame him?
These are the fruits of the recent politically-motivated, irresponsible, racialized demonization of the USA’s police. I want no part of this movement (“Stop Racist Police Terror”), no matter how fashionable it may be.
Number of arrests in Baltimore plunge as violence rises
27 May 2015 / BBC
The number of arrests made by Baltimore police in May has plummeted as shootings and homicides have dramatically increased. […]
[L]ocal media have reported that May has turned out to be the deadliest month in the city since 1999.
The police department has not explained the decline in arrests. It has been under scrutiny since the death of Freddie Gray in April set off weeks of protests and unrest.
Two homicides on Monday brought the total number of killings for the month to 35, and 108 for the year, according to the Baltimore Sun newspaper.
Arrest data made public by the city government and reviewed by the BBC showed that Baltimore police made 791 arrests from 1 May to 16 May – the most recent data available. This marks a decline of over 55% from the same periods in 2013 and 2014.
