Baltimore: Issues Affecting a City of 602,495 Residents - Essay Sample

Introduction

Remarkably, every place is affected by its issues. Baltimore, a city in Maryland, is no different, with an average population of about 602,495 residents according to 2018 data (Cantora and Lauren 690). After conducting thorough research on the city, it is clear that many issues are affecting the city. They include unemployment, racism, drugs, poverty, and homelessness, among others. All these issues have had a significant role to play regarding the state of crime in the city. The city is relatively safe during the day, but at night the levels of insecurity increase. Residents have reported a high violent crime rate to be very high. However, the rate of insecurity has been increasing over the last few years, therefore, creating a need for the issue to be addressed. Insecurity has proved to be a significant threat to tourist, therefore, threatening one of the critical sources of income in the area (Cantora and Lauren 695). Therefore it is essential to understand how the issues related to the crime rate in the city.

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First and foremost, the city has an extremely high poverty rate of about 23% against the countries 13% (Grawert and James). The poverty rate has played a significant role in the increase in crime as the distribution of resources is uneven. Therefore the residents feel that the only way they can raise their living standards is by engaging in activities such as stealing and participating in other criminal activities leading to an increase in crime. Secondly, the city has a high unemployment rate compared to other cities, as its unemployment rate is about 5 percent (Cantora et al. 152). The majority of the people who are not employed are the young generation. Therefore they have resulted in taking part in criminal activities so that they can be able to sustain themselves and cater to their needs. Ordinarily, if an individual has no employment, they will result in other ways so that they can sustain themselves. Thirdly, the state is well known for its drug consumption. Most people, especially the youths, have resulted in forming gangs that deal with drugs.

In most cases, the gangs engage in fights among themselves, which are not easy to resolve. Also, gangs deal with other criminal activities in the city, such as controlling businesses. Besides, drug addicts who consume the drugs try to find all the necessary means to get money to purchase the drugs (Grawert and James). When they do not get the money, they result in criminal activities to finance their addiction.

Additionally, the city has high levels of homelessness with data claiming that more than three thousand people sleep outside at night. Notably, when an individual lacks housing, it is highly possible they cannot sustain themselves. Homeless people have contributed highly to the increase in crime as when others are in their house, and they can easily do illegal things such as robbing their businesses. Mainly, these take part in these issues, intending to ensure that they can survive. Lastly, racism is also a significant factor that has led to a high crime rate. The city is still being affected by the history of racial relations between whites and black Americans (Cantora et al. 140). Black Americans feel that they need revenge as they have suffered a lot from the whites; therefore, they need revenge.

Consequently, this has led to high cases of clashes between the two groups as the blacks want to prove their superiority while whites want to maintain that it is the superior race. Baltimore had a very large population of African Americans, with more than 40% of the people being black (Troy et al. .92). Therefore the issue is still affecting them in terms of crime.

On the other hand, the city has been affected by special circumstances recently, such as increased racial tensions, high profile cases and high profile cases. Racial tensions have increased due to sentiments from popular figures such as US President Donald Trump, which have been deemed racists (Troy et al. 80). Therefore there has been an upsurge in racially related cases. There also have been high profile cases such as murder cases. High profile cases are also extremely high compared to other states. There have been experimental practices to help curb the issue of crime. The most remarkable practice is the community policing between the law enforcers and the residents. Mainly, this was aimed at ensuring cooperation between the two groups, thus easily combating crime.

At the same time, racial tensions have had a lot of impact on the police department. Mainly, this is because all the races are represented in the police department. Therefore the police service may still favour their race and despise the other. Contrary to the belief that law enforcers should have a neutral opinion in their judgment, this has proved to be a major issue to solve in the department. Police promotions in the city have also mainly over the years been affected by racism. Therefore it is hard to fight crime as a Chief of Police as most of the officers have a formed opinion about their races. The cities education distribution is also a major issue in the fight against crime. Most of those who have a bachelor's degree are have over 25 years, and most of them are employed (Grawert and James). However, the rest minority are either dropouts or those still in schools play a huge part in criminal activities. This is attributed to the fact that they do not have an income to which they can easily sustain their existence. Therefore as a Chief of Police, a lot of issues must be addressed to deal with the problems that exist in the city and maintain order.

First, the CCTV cameras should be increased all over the city. Mainly this will be aimed at ensuring that the members of the public can be easily monitored. Consequently, this will make it easy to capture lawbreakers while still discouraging them from engaging in criminal activities as they will be caught easily. Second, the judicial system should be enhanced. The judges and magistrates should be reshuffled and vetted while more also should be employed.

Conversely, this is aimed at ensuring that all legal cases are addressed efficiently, and do not take long. Also, in this case, the judicial system will be able to deliver credible judgment as they are fair. Thirdly, a system should be deployed to ensure that all ex-convicts can get employment after successfully serving their prison (Troy et al. 79). Mainly, this is aimed at ensuring that they do not get back to their former criminal acts. Furthermore, the public should be involved in fighting crime and work closely with law enforcers such that they give them information on lawbreakers.

In most cases, police have a lot of problems dealing with criminals, as the community members fail to help them with the necessary information. Lastly, unemployment should be eradicated to help fight poverty. Therefore people will not have a reason to steal as they already have basic things that they require.

All in all, most cities have been affected by crime in recent years. However, solving the issue of crime is not extremely difficult, as outlined as if the recommendations are followed. The issue of crime can be eradicated in all the cities, therefore, ensuring that people live in peace. Crime leads to a lot of negative factors as the business cannot thrive, and people also live in fear. Therefore it is important to deal with the issue of crime using all means possible to ensure that people continue with their life without anything affecting them.

Works Cited

Cantora, Andrea, et al. "Examining collective efficacy and perceptions of policing in East Baltimore." Crime Prevention and Community Safety 21.2 (2019): 136-152. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41300-019-00065-7

Cantora, Andrea, Seema Iyer, and Lauren Restivo. "Understanding drivers of crime in East Baltimore: Resident perceptions of why crime persists." American Journal of Criminal Justice 41.4 (2016): 686-709. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12103-015-9314-6

Grawert, Ames, and James Cullen. "Crime in 2017: Updated analysis." Brennan Center for Justice 5 (2017). https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/publications/2018_09_CrimeUpdate_V2.pdf

Troy, Austin, Ashley Nunery, and J. Morgan Grove. "The relationship between residential yard management and neighborhood crime: An analysis from Baltimore City and County." Landscape and Urban Planning 147 (2016): 78-87. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204615002285