It was a joke that Commissioner Bealfield strolled around the harbor in the middle of a bright sky with 2 other officers by his side and declared the area safe. No kidding genious. Even the criminal eliment knows you don't go after the ipods, wallets or whatever else may be appealing to have in the middle of the day with multiple armed officers and the news media following his every step. Rember the old campaign "It's your Baltimore don't Trash It"? Well, it's trashed.

I assume the notation that the Sheraton is on S. Charles St is the author's. Gary's not as stupid as he looks.....He was at the Sheraton on Fayette St. and to venture west might not be advisable. You can look it up.

Is The Sun claiming the story is untrue? My neighbors can recount several car jackings, armed robberies and gang attacks in Baltimore. The Police Commissioner is a LIAR and his numbers are made up. Black thugs seek out white victims and they know if caught, they'll get a jury of 12 blacks that will not convict their own.

A couple things...

"Sirens around the clock." If it's the Fayette Street hotel, some of the sirens _might_ have been ambulances heading to Shock Trauma.

Robin Quivers hasn't _lived_ in Baltimore for the last twenty years.

Just sayin'.

When it comes to the siren thing, we do have to remember that there are three major hospitals in the area that are in fairly close proximity to the harbor. I mean I went to Towson University, heard sirens all the time, because it was right next door to GBMC and St. Joe's.

Still, Baltimore is violent, no doubt about that. This city is trying to turn a corner, but the gangs and the drugs hold us back.

I'm in downtown right now, and don't here any sirens. What am I doing wrong?

I grew up in New York when it was dangerous. Naturally, every city has its bad sections, but I do feel unsafe in the heart of Baltimore. In NY, the crime used to be for economic gain, steal a car, rob a purse and the pick pocket capital of the world , Grand Central Station. In Baltimore, crimes are being committed by young kids for no apparent reason other than to fulfill an image. Today, When I return to NY, I have to say it's one of the safest cities. The subway platforms are filled with police or MTA workers offering help to those who are lost. Whether you're of fan or not, Guiliani was responsible for the change. Dixon should cross the aisle(what a bad term) and pay him a fee to consult on what it would take to make Baltimore safe again.

I stayed in that same hotel when I visited Baltimore a few weeks ago. We went on a dinner cruise, and there had been an Orioles game the same night. I have to say, the worst thing I saw was a Yankee fan sparring with an Oriole fan. I did find it very strange that on our walk back up to the hotel, via Light Street, once we were a few blocks from the harbor, the street had an eerie, deserted feeling to it. And, after reading all of this, I'm a little hesitant to come back! It's a shame, because we really do love Inner Harbor.

By the way, we heard sirens during the night, too. I just assumed they were coming from the shock trauma center a few blocks away.

Well, Baltimore is a dangerous place. What do you expect? Once the City is at least honest with itself about this fact, then maybe things will improve.

Bababooey didn't say anything that I've never thought before.

Paul R. has a point. Robin Quivers is so far removed from Baltimore that she can't even identify a good crabcake. A guest once brought in some G&M crabcakes to the studio, and she insisted that they were nothing but filler. If you've been to G&M, you would know that Robin had no idea what she was talking about.

you left out the part where he described the fat chick (250 lbs) dancing on the bar !!!!

Gary gave an exact description of Baltimore...dangerous and fat.

He was 100% on base with his comments. I wish the city would accept this fact of life and then do something to combat the criminals. I live 35 miles from Baltimore and I would rather drive into DC that hang out in Bmore.

Baltimore's not a safe city. I've lived here my whole life. It is not a safe city. It just isn't. Let's stop pretending and ignoring and maybe we can get to the root of the problem.

I was assaulted by a group of black kids one day on the way home from high school some 14 years ago. Little has changed as far as the group mentality goes when it comes to these random violent assaults. Well, it's actually now time for a change.

Too many random black kids trying to act big and bad. There goes the tourism industry....whoops there goes all of your industry. Its ok as long as the black kids are happy.

They are the future after all. Someone should sit 'em all down and tell 'em "Look know your role. Stop making it bad for the city." The Mayor could have a weekly youth broadcast to keep getting the message out there to the youth in Baltimore.

Tom Brown of Baltimore,

How about toning down the racism? "Know your role"? What exactly do you mean by that?

"Know your role" means just that. Know what you need to do as an individual citizen so that the entire city can succeed.

Please reconsider calling someone a racist just for expressing their opinions based on their experiences.

Call me racist if you like, but my observations and personal experiences with crime have been with majority young black males as perpetrators. Not all, but the majority.

Maybe they aren't the root cause of the crime, but they might just find themselves stuck in a behavior pattern. If this group of young males could get out of this behavior pattern, then the entire city could benefit.

MCG - How about not assuming that everything is a racist comment. It's getting so old that people always go to the racist card.

Know your role should mean knowing your role in society and that it's NOT okay to attack people.

First of all, Baltimore is what? 65%-70% black, so statistically more blacks will not only commit more crimes, but also be victims of more crimes.

And to Alex of Lombard St., your comment eerily sounds just like the criminal justice system no more than 35-50 yrs ago after a lynching or bombing of a church or murder, only it was skewed toward the white side...doesn't feel too good or fair now that you're on the short end of the stick, huh? Karma.

Bottom line, you shouldn't be putting too much stock into or giving so much credibility to an entertainment show and it's players, although the points they make, as well as all the posters do contain many truths.

But if crime was so bad, I doubt the development would remain at the current pace, so someone sees something worthwhile investing in the city and it's future.

@ Pelham: Giuliani was partly responsible for the change in NY, but the prosperity and booming job market that helped NY thrive in the 90s in the first place had a lot more to do with the Clinton administration.

As for the rest of the old, proud US cities like Baltimore, they'll continue to die the slow death that started when Reagan pulled the plug on funding them almost 30 years ago.

Anyway, props to Gary for bringing some attention back to the disparity in safety between NY (always among the top 5 safest cities in US) and Baltimore (gunning for #1 most dangerous every year).

wow what a clever come back, veal.
"you alls got yours!!!!" the city is dead- everybody knows it. its time we stand up to these parasites and their advocacy groups as it is now hitting the suburbs. the murder in crofton is a horrific example.

Eutaw Street Historian, how about you get a clue? I'm white, and I live in a neighborhood that I would venture to guess is equal parts white, black, and Hispanic (Patterson Park). I've witnessed white, black, and Hispanic juvenile delinquents committing property crimes in my neighborhood- all of which anger me. The biggest problem on my block is a 19 year old white guy who vandalizes trees, houses, and street signs and was recently arrested with his black friend for trying to break into a car that was parked across from the park. The house where the 17-year-old lives is owned by a white person who uses the Section 8 money that he collects from his tenants to finance his $900,000 home in Fallston (who also refuses to evict this tenant because he doesn't want to lose the guaranteed income that comes with accepting a Section 8 voucher). So, you see, it's not only black crime that affects our city.

Having lived here for four years, I have a better perspective on socioeconomic problems plaguing our city than cookie cutter subdivision dwelling people like you who get their information about Baltimore from Ron Smith and Tom Marr.

mcg- you should do your homework next time before you buy a home in a lousy area.

MCG - you're the one that needs to get a clue. You need to stop calling people racists just for seeing the true problems in and around Baltimore. I have personally seen neighborhood after neighborhood in the city and counties surrounding Baltimore fall to crime and poverty due to black migration. Once pristine areas are now littered with trash - drive thrus with rotating bullet proof glass, liquor stores with bullet proof glass between the customer and clerk, metal detectors in the schools and so on and on. Only a complete moron is incabable of seeing this.
Look at the facts dude... Blacks make up only approx. 15% of the population in this country but make up over 40% of our prison population countrywide. And in Maryland that percentage is much higher. Only 0.7% of whites are in prison compared to 5% of blacks (and that percentage increases dramatically in the cities). These are staggering facts. Add to that the fact that the percentage of blacks on welfare is far more than the percentage of whites.
Wake up dude - there is a huge black crime/poverty problem in this state. If you don't believe it, I'll take you to some once nice areas that you will be petrified to go into now.

Don't cry too hard or someone will come and give all of these dumb(attittude wise) "at-risk" youths scholarships even though they have had too much given to them already. Look at Lance Stepehnson the once top pick of colleges in the nation for basketball but since his "alleged" crime situation and ego attitude is not that cute, it is now making it hard on him to get picked up. People want to cry poor baby give him a chance, this boys ego is so big he had his own reality show when he was Junior called Bornready, no sympathey here What? No I don't think so, someone sent me a provocative e-mail titled "12 Thing The Negro Must do For Himself". It is deep because it is common sense layed out for most who do not get it the first time it was written Circa Early 1900. For those like me my family knew how to become successful on our their which is why my son has 3.8 GPA in elememtary school in the 5th grade and is in the 95th% in Math and Reading in the United States and can't get any financial aid to a good privae school because he is not "at-risk".

If they do the crime they need to do crime, and the 14yr old in juvie for the Crofton murder need to be tried as an adult, he should not have played one if he cannot pay like one...But that's just it people want to cry poor baby he didn't know better look at his neighborhood. Yes he did and they need to send a serious message to all those Young Black Boys that think they are Gangster like Mr.T.I.P Harris gunmachine arms dealers who got a slap on the wrist with 1yr of doing time...Black People get it together and keep the Ghetto in your neighborhood don't come to mine with it because I will call the cops on ya if you play that music to damn loud....Keep it in the Ghetto and I mean it...

MCG - you're the one that needs to get a clue. You need to stop calling people racists just for seeing the true problems in and around Baltimore. I have personally seen neighborhood after neighborhood in the city and counties surrounding Baltimore fall to crime and poverty due to black migration. Once pristine areas are now littered with trash - drive thrus with rotating bullet proof glass, liquor stores with bullet proof glass between the customer and clerk, metal detectors in the schools and so on and on. Only a complete moron is incabable of seeing this.
Look at the facts dude... Blacks make up only approx. 15% of the population in this country but make up over 40% of our prison population countrywide. And in Maryland that percentage is much higher. Only 0.7% of whites are in prison compared to 5% of blacks (and that percentage increases dramatically in the cities). These are staggering facts. Add to that the fact that the percentage of blacks on welfare is far more than the percentage of whites.
Wake up dude - there is a huge black crime/poverty problem in this state. If you don't believe it, I'll take you to some once nice areas that you will be petrified to go into now.

MCG - you're the one that needs to get a clue. You need to stop calling people racists just for seeing the true problems in and around Baltimore. I have personally seen neighborhood after neighborhood in the city and counties surrounding Baltimore fall to crime and poverty due to black migration. Once pristine areas are now littered with trash - drive thrus with rotating bullet proof glass, liquor stores with bullet proof glass between the customer and clerk, metal detectors in the schools and so on and on. Only a complete moron is incabable of seeing this.
Look at the facts dude... Blacks make up only approx. 15% of the population in this country but make up over 40% of our prison population countrywide. And in Maryland that percentage is much higher. Only 0.7% of whites are in prison compared to 5% of blacks (and that percentage increases dramatically in the cities). These are staggering facts. Add to that the fact that the percentage of blacks on welfare is far more than the percentage of whites.
Wake up dude - there is a huge black crime/poverty problem in this state. If you don't believe it, I'll take you to some once nice areas that you will be petrified to go into now.

Praise God!
In Response to Mondays, June 1st - "Shootings near Camden Yards" in the Opinion section of the Sun and to address the hysteria surrounding the so
called "crime wave" going on in Baltimore's downtown,
I say, “Where is your Faith in God and in our beloved city? Or better still “Don’t believe the hype about Balimore being under attack!
Baltimore is a wonderful city and it’s about time that the citizens who worship, work, and live in Baltimore stand for her, and all the good things that we experience everyday!
Crime is crime wherever it happens and Baltimore is no different then any other city in the world.
As a matter of fact in the Jonestown area (828 E. Baltimore St.) where we have worked for over 10 years publishing our magazine a monthly of church events and local news, we have had some petty crimes and disturbances, as we are down the street from the “Power Plant Live Zone, but that what you would expect form time to time.
Also, to address the report of the 1840’s Ballroom on Front St., we have been blessed by the owner who has provided space to have church services on Sunday mornings from 9AM – 12Noon. In canvassing the neighborhood and going throughout the community from Front St on the west to Central Ave on the east and everything in between Lombard and Fayette Sts on Saturdays and during the week we have done so without any fear or apprehension!
Baltimore has taken a bad rap, and I’m not sure if it’s political against the Mayor or the Police Commissioner but the citizens who know and love Baltimore have to establish that there is more Good in Baltimore than meets the "eye of the media" or that we have been given credit.
To all the Howard Stern’s and the other nay sayers, this is what I say, “Get a grip!”
Lets work with those who are helping to make a difference in the area such as: Helping Up Mission and the various men and women homeless shelters, etc, etc, etc.
If it’s broke, lets fix it, rather then lock them up, lets prop them up,
rather than leave the city that bleeds, let us (the citizens of Baltimore)help make it be the city leads!

"Judge not that ye be not judged." Matthew 7:1

Rev. William Wingo
Pastor,THEPOWERCHURCH
thepowerchurch@live.com
Publisher, The Power Magazine
www.thepowermag.com

MCG - Your response shows how out of touch you really are. But I'm glad that while you assumed in your last post that a comment was racist, that you assume that I'm from a cookie cutter subdivision.

If you consider Seton Hill and Pigtown cookie cutter areas, then I guess that's where I've lived in the 20 years that I've been in Baltimore.

We need to start holding people accountable for their actions and start thinking out of the box on how to make our city safe.

It is becoming worse than 3rd world countries...and in fact, I'd imagine that some areas rival the worst environments in the world.

mike a, I did my homework. The positives outweigh the negatives in my neighborhood. I was just pointing out that we have criminals of all colors in our neighborhood. In fact, I'm willing to bet that I got a better value for my house than you did.

I look forward to the day when gas rises to $10/gallon and all of those 7-year ARM loans taken out during 2004 and 2005 come due- thus turning your suburban utopia into a slum. Don't believe me? Then read this article.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200803/subprime

What we need is a full court press
on absentee parents, drug addiction and jobs to give young people hope!
The churches and politicians must get off their asses and confront the problem head on-shaming those into doing what is right. Right now civilization is losing and Baltimore
is like a toilet that has overflooded the feces is everywhere. Myself as soon as I can afford to I will leave this cesspool.

Jay, you are right on the money. As a business owner in Balto. AI can say what a cesspool that city is, I have moved to southern pa. and sold one of ny businesses and the second is for sale also. I can't wait till I sell it and never have to set foot in that cesspool ever again. Anyone who does not agree has their head in the sand or is just a complete liar.

I recently attended a party with some old friends, native to Baltimore, and some new friends, now living in Butcher's Hill. The Butcher's Hill gang was telling a story about a mutual friend that was beaten with the prong side of a hammer. The next week their friends house was broken into. The old friend says, "You're not from Baltimore. That's a bad neighborhood..."

Part of the problem is that people move into 300k homes and think that means the neighborhood is safe.

A good start would be the return of a foot patrol, like in Harbor East, where the city is more than happy to protect their investment. Residents need to be careful and stick together and the police need to make it clear that these heinous crimes won't be tolerated. Ultimately, though, if you continue to build expensive homes and wave them in the face of the projects, you're going to get this kind of reaction.

I'm guessing you'll be talking about this issue today.

I am an RN and have worked at Shock Trauma since the early 80's. When I started at Trauma, most of the patients were a result of drinking and driving. With the campaigns for seatbelts, MADD, SADD ,etc that population has decreased.

What started taking their place is the fallout of the drug culture and the associated violence. There has been an incredible increase in the amount and degree of violence that is never talked about on the news. I am amazed at the degradation of that culture. It reminds me of "Lord of the Flies." Very animalistic and savage. NO regard for life. Completely without morals or standards. These people live their lives knowing that they or someone they know will be killed or maimed regularly. They will kill for minimal gain or with minimal provocation.

Unfortunately, people in this culture are stuck in the very lowest level of Maslowe's hierarchy of needs. There have been so many generations of children born into this hopelessness that neither they or their teenage mother can begin to see a way out. There is not enough resources of any kind to bring these children up to have any hope of getting out. There are no fathers, no stable homes, no consistent caregivers, not enough food, clothing, etc. Not to mention to lack of love, nuturing, caring, encouragement, etc. It is too "white" to go to school, and after generations of a lack of an education, these children are on the streets by the age of 4 or 5, doomed to repeat the cycle. They, from birth, witness sadness, violence, death and out of control behavior regularly. No amount of money will fix this. Children can not recover from this kind of trauma.

I see more people visiting this city, on business or pleasure, that are being mugged, robbed or attacked. Often the victims remark "I gave them my money, I don't know why they shot/stabbed me..." I have talked to victims of hate crimes that get no news coverage because it's not the right PC group.

Also, I've noticed an increase in stabbings. Numerous patients have remarked "that everyone carries something sharp, easier to get and hide."

I did not vote for Obama, however, I was hopeful that with his election there would begin to be discussion about curbing teenage motherhood. I am certain the message would not be well received from someone like me; white, middle class, from the suburbs. The black leaders in this country must begin to cast a negative light on this terrible problem. It must become taboo to perpetuate this horrilble culture.

Have a good one

Black Leaders to cast a negative light on this terrible behaviour of looking for handouts,disability, welfare, housing vouchers and food stamps? Or bahaviours like peddling drugs, running in gangs to mug, rape, stab and kill. I doubt it! Somewhere in the privacy of their churches and their homes, black Americans use SLOTH and HATRED to perpetuate what is going on in Baltimore today. No one values the the toil of one's labor, programs like affirmative action and free vouchers for just about anything one would need has devalued such. As a long standing democrat, unless the Obama Administration can give rise to some real change here, I will move to join the Republican effort to cut all these programs that devalue the human self respect of working for a living, providing for ones family and providing for the future generations to come!

Tom - very well written - I agree completely. And you're right - white people, like us, have been screaming about this for years but we're usually called racists and biggots.
How many neighborhoods have to fall, how many cities ruined, how many people killed before the leaders (black or white) of this country do something "real" about this problem. All they do is throw more and more of our hard earned tax money at it year after year. And basically sweeping it under the rug.
The PC attitude needs to stop. This problem needs to be called out as it is - a huge black crime/poverty issue. They need to change the culture. Get these people off of welfare and turn them into productive, morally sound citizens. Where do you start?
I hope that Mr. Obama, as a half-black male, will address this issue sensibly. If he doesn't, we'll have to call his presidency a failure.

I would like to concur that curbing teenage motherhood has to be one of the cornerstones of addressing the sweeping forces of poverty that create this culture of violence. I appreciate the perspective of Tom Corocran the RN. Just a few days ago my husband and I took the "scenic" drive through east baltimore to go to Patterson Park, and indeed we even commented on seeing 4 and 5 year olds running around the desolate streets that resemble Beirut. We saw barely twleve year old girls holding infants on their stoops. And this is not a black issue, go to South Baltimore and check out the numbers of young white girls with babies, I have ridden the light rail with enough teenage mothers (again, both black, white and latina), watched and nearly wept when I see them manhandling their kids, screaming at their kids and clearly are not providing their young, sometimes infant offspring with the nurtuting, love and tools they need to become future functioning members of society.

Where some may disagree with me is that I say throw as much money as possible into teaching the next generation about birth control. I don't think all of these ill-equipped teen mothers are necessarily savvy enough to wilfully gain the system and are having babies to recieve welfare checks. I do think that teenage pregnancy, like the violence in these neighborhoods decimated by the drug trade, has become normalized.

And before people jump down my back, I am quite sure that many teen mothers out there are wonderful teen mothers, hard-working, going to school and trying to raise equally wonderful children. But it is insane to suggest that babies should be raising babies, even if there a few out there who have the wherewithal to be good at it. I am a new mother in my thirties, and this is the most challenging work I have ever done in my life.

Well put Tom and Claudlaw. Refreshing to see well thought-out comments being posted for a change. Lots of people here are making blanket statements on both sides of the issue without offering up any constructive ideas. I have to admit, I don't have too many myself (do you think I'd waste my time here if I did?), but clearly what's being done now isn't working.

It's going to take cooperation and ideas from ALL sides (city/county, black/white, liberal/conservative) to tackle this issue. That's the biggest problem here. Nobody's bringing all sides together, certainly not our lame-duck mayor. You posters who want the nightstick-upside-the-head approach, fine....but that's a short term reactive solution only. There is room for this tactic (some kids are just bad seeds, period). You can do that with one hand for now, but the other has to be more proactive and longterm: Preventing the at-risk kids from falling off the cliff into the world of gangs, drugs, etc. Whatever that takes. An earlier poster sarcastically mentioned these kids are our future. Guess what: They really are!! It would be a shame to have a whole generation of kids worse off than their parents, although I can imagine their parents are pretty bad off now.

For now, the media will continue to report on what's going on, as they should. Keep doing what you're doing, Pete! It may give the city a black eye (only because of people's perceptions), but maybe it'll draw attention to the real problems plaguing my hometown. Question is, will this bring people together do something about it? Hope so, but I doubt it from this page.

That's my piece. Let the vitriol continue....

My fiance was just offered a job in Baltimore after hearing Gary on the Stern show and reading these comments - I'm TERRIFIED.. and Im from NYC

WOW I can't believe how many people say don't use the race card when all of the comments I've just read are all racist now you tell me if i'm wrong bottom line the crime rate is CRAZY in Baltimore at the end of reisterstown rd into the city it says thank you for comming to park heights please come again and you really think it is a sick joke I am african american and I dont feel safe. People are losing there life for less then five dollars and whats even more crazy that they are shooting at the Police so I would just suggest to Stay away!!!!!! Its sad and maybe one day things will change but dont hold your breath... My heart goes out to the children who are being born into such maddness without a chance of excaping the cold streets of Baltimore City and all we can do is pray

George from Hamden tries to give Bill Clinton most of the creditfor the drop in crime in NY in the 90's. Is he serious. During Gulliani's term, murders in NY city dropped from 2200+ a year to just over 600. In Baltimnore during that same time, the annual murder rate rose from 250 a year to 365. Why did it drop so much in one city, but rose significantly in other during the same period? It had nothing to do with Clinton, but rather with the mayors of the two cities. The inept Kurt Schmoke ran Baltimore during the 90's. So when crime was dropping significantly under Gulliani's tenure, it rose dramatically under Shmoke's tenure. Also, in Los Angeles at that same time, crime dropped under Riordon's tenure. Both of those mayors where tough on crime Republicans. Schmoke was an Uber liberal. What Baltimore needs to do is elect a tough on crime Republican if it ever wants to reverse the trend. Otherwise, we will continue to be near the top in all crime statistics. Just look at the top ten cities for crime. They are all led by Democrats.

I live downtown, right beside Camden Yards. I am a total yuppie--33, married, no kids, nice house, two good jobs... I am sure you already have the exact image in your head you need to of my husband and I. And that is the point. We are the solution to the problem of the city. Not just us, but people like us, and people not quite like us, and people not at all like us who are all willing to peacefully live here and STICK IT OUT quietly and not give up. I read these posts and everyone is just ranting and suggesting impossible, largely racist (or at least racist-sounding or racist-leaning) solutions, when there are already so, so many of us here, quietly taking this city back. Look around downtown. Look at Federal Hill, Ridgely's Delight, Fells Point... who do you think owns ALL those row homes? WE do. There are a whole lot of US there--quietly deciding that Baltimore is our city. We aren't out on commando task forces, but we are paying our taxes and mortgages, improving our lots, and gradually getting to know each other.

We need to band together--at least in the sense that we believe that we own this place and that we won't be scared away. We need to watch each others backs, to believe that our neighbor will watch ours, and claim this city as ours. Yes, it is a rough city. In parts, at least. There is no safe city. And there is no magic fence which keeps the "good" people from the "bad" people (and who decides, anyway?) But I live here. This is MY city. I don't want to get mugged, and I do my best to not be a target. But I know I live in a city, and it is always a risk.

PS--I live, literally, 1 block west of Camden yards, and the only sirens I hear are the fire station (right below the bromoseltzer tower) and ambulances to the shock trauma center. I am much more aware of the sound of the helicopters flying in to the shock trauma center. Maybe I'm on the wrong side of the stadium to hear them, though.

charmcity - I'm glad you have spoken out on this issue but where are all of the racist comments that you are talking about? I don't see any. Why is it that you can say the same thing?

Kim - Is the job offer in Baltimore City?
If so, don't worry too much. You can always live in one of the nice, nearby suburbs and commute fairly quickly to the city and back each day. As long as you're not in the city at night, you're okay.
It takes me about 15-20 minutes to get into the city and I live in a very nice area with virtually no crime at all.

To those who repeat the mantra about being "tough on crime": what precisely does that mean? I agree that violent offenders need to put away for longer sentences (rape sentencing guidelines are fighteningly low). But teens are already getting locked up in juvie detention facilities that are hardly country clubs, and they still come out committing more crimes. We need to ask why. Why do our children turn to violence, knowing that it could lock them up? Could it be because our prisons are just an extension of their daily existences? Gangs thrive behind prison wires and corruption is rampant inside. If a 15 year old has a choice between squatting in a vacant house in east baltimore and getting locked up, does it stand to reason that he takes the chance of getting locked up? How does a person's moral compass go so awry that they can attack a nanny with an infant in tow? I am hard pressed to believe that thousands of children are hard-wired to be "BAD" - they have to be taught to behave in such a manner, actively and through wilfull neglect.

I am from NYC - the Bronx actually - so I have some perspective on the Guilliani years. Police did have a zero-tolerance policy on things like loitering, and that was a start at making streets safer. (Although I know a hell of lot of people who were manhandled by cops for no reason). BUT I can also safely say that NYC, even in its worst neighborhoods, did NOT have the desolation and poverty that I see in Baltimore. NYC did NOT have rows and rows of vacant houses, factories shuttered, and a job market so bad that its tax base had to commute out of the state to find work (check out a MARC train in the morning to see what I refer to here).

So again, I repeat: explain what being "tough on crime entails" - because if it does not address the root of these issues - babies having babies, drug addicted parents not raising their babies, and communities being decimated by poverty without any job prospects in sight - then I fail to see how crime stats will go down.

Here's one substantive suggestion: bring back trade schools. No child left behind is a joke. What hopes are we giving kids, using tests that only help them to determine that they have no future. And for those that actually pass those tests, I ask: If middle-class families can barely afford college, and jobs are scarce when their kids graduate, what hopes lie ahead for the majority of Baltimore's teens? I say bring back vocational and trade programs, where youth can learn some actual skills and see how to make some actual money without turning to the drug trade.

Kristina - If you had kids would you still live there?
And don't be so quick to call other people's comments on this blog as "racist-sounding or racist-leaning" (which they are not). I'm sure someone will take your comment of "taking this city back" as racist or elitist. You, just as everyone else on this blog, are just stating fact.

Moving away from all the racism bladdy-blah...I think it is important to realize that Baltimore has no industrial relevance in the world any more.

What's made in Baltimore anymore? Not much.

It will be critical to the city's future to increase industrial production.

As someone who is moving to the area in the next few weeks, I have been intrigued by the discussion on this blog. Yes, it sounds like Baltimore itself is like any other major city in America or the world. Crime happens. It often happens somewhat unpredicatbly, sometimes violently, and if you do things to make your odds higher, you may be the victim. Or you may not. I will be a State employee living with a wife and new child in the suburbs near Owings Mills. I will be commuting in on the subway as much as I can. My wife will be commuting as well to a job near S. Charles. We will have to learn to handle ourselves in the city again... meaning being attentive to possible threats, being aware of our surroundings, and being prepared and knowing how to handle problems we encounter. I hope that we (or anyone posting on this board) never has any trouble, but we can't guarantee anything - simply do our best to avoid it. Thanks for this discussion.

Hello.
I have read article of the Howard Stern and in this it is very nice article. Impressions are everything, and for Garry Dell'Abate, the producer for the Howard Stern show, what he thinks about Baltimore isn't too good. We just had this conversation with Baltimore's police commissioner.
Thanks for sahring.

I agree w Paul. That statement made by Alex regarding black thugs, etc...sounds like dude took a unfourtunate turn of events...but sorry crime happens to all incl more black & other minority non-thugs than whites & the justice system is about the same for all...based on the evidence. You're no endagered species Alex...just use common sense & your odds in B-more r better than not. No waling in alone in unsafe areas or 'safe' for that matter. No leaving stuff in car. Lock up. Be aware. Hope your future experience r better Alex...from a non-thug Afro American.

I've lived in Brooklyn MD for twenty years. I lived in pa for about eight. I've been jumped atleast 15 times. The last time I drew a punch blade o this black kid. I am an American Indian and every time I was jumped it was by black males. I carry weapons everywhere. I was never prejudicial until now black people in general are the downfall of Baltimore and everyone knows it.

Terrible reading these recounting's of events in Baltimore. As though the WIRE & HOMICIDE TV series were not damning enough, the first person recollections of personal experiences are, at risk of delving into the realm of cliche', blood chilling.

I experienced NYC throughout the early 1970's - 1990's, & it got much safer during those years. One could transit formerly off limits area's, such as the Lower East Side, with reasonable sense of security. So why not Baltimore?

I've a sense of why not ,but dare I express it?

Baltimore may be a lost cause. Why do I feel this way?

For the obvious reasons. Baby Daddy scumbags.

There. Noted. Refute this with a reasoned argument. No danger of that happening.

Stupidity, ignorance, inverse "racism" & a culture of government funded dependency has devolved into a cycle of violence that rivals the worst atrocities that Africa,the Middle East &, quite unfortunately, certain European cities are experiencing.

is there any hope to solve these problems? Of course there is hope. But decades of failed governmental policies have yet to clue these feral lowlifes to an alternative course of action.

Blanco, negro, asst... it makes no difference to me. I despair daily at the degradation of societal norms exhibited & fomented by these lost generations of, g*d help me, though I must, according to the laws of our land, characterize these feral viillian's as citizens, of a sort.

Education & Incarceration have both proven to be failed, or, at best, nominally in-effective, reactions to this crisis.

So what course of action might potentially prove effective?

Any suggestions?

A WPA type program for teen aged offenders might be an answer, closely supervised, of course. Other than this .....?????