A ceasefire between Baltimore “gang leaders, drug dealers and others linked to the violence” has been agreed on and will come into effect on Friday.
This is an act of desperation from a community that is currently experiencing a homicide rate doubled of Chicago’s and a murder count higher than NYC. The ceasefire aims to stop the killings for at-least 72-hours, starting on August 04-06.
The slogan selected by organizers gets right to the point: “Nobody kill anybody”.
Violent crime in Baltimore has flourished over the past few years, due to the “Ferguson Effect”, along with the death of “Freddie Gray” that triggered Baltimore’s April 2015 riots.
According to the Economist, Baltimore may see more than 400 murders this year. This would indicate 2017 will be the deadliest year ever on record.
August homicides are already in full-swing leading up to the ceasefire.
Yearly data projects many more months of violent crime for the city.
Mapping out the 208 homicides across Baltimore City looks like battleship.
If nothing else comes from the ceasefire, such gestures were a first step in helping residents feel that they were regaining control of neighborhoods, said Cassandra Crifasi, deputy director of the Johns Hopkins-Baltimore Collaborative for Violence Reduction.
“Even if it ends up being only one day without a shooting, that’s going to be good for the city,” Crifasi said.
Conclusion
It’s highly unlikely that Baltimore “gang leaders, drug dealers and others linked to the violence” will take a 72-hour loss in profits and give up their corner where drugs are peddled from.
Baltimore is a chaotic war zone and it’s time we start treating it like one.
