This is an issue I explored when I first landed this gig a year and a half ago (has it been that long?)
As I wrote then, and again 13 months ago, if just one person loses his or her life at the hands of another, that's one life lost too many.
But we live in the real world, and here the homicide rate is a number politicians love to cite, the media loves to report, and citizens like to follow.
That's why the news that in the first half of 2010 the city recorded its fewest number of homicides since 1983 resonates so deeply. According to the Associated Press, there were 99 homicides in the city over the first six months of the year, the lowest total from January through June in 27 years. Baltimore has not had fewer than 200 slayings in a year since 1978. The pace of homicides was slower before Memorial Day weekend, when 12 people were slain.
Nonfatal shootings are flat this year, with 192 over six months. There were 193 in the same period last year.
Is this reason to celebrate? Of course not. When looked at outside the context of one of America's most deadly cities, 99 homicides is appalling. But it can be considered progress. Historically, crime - and violent crime - spikes during the hot summer months, so July and August will be key months. Let's revisit this at the end of the year and see where we are.
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