Death Map of Baltimore
February 5, 2008 10:08 PM   Subscribe

Google mashup: Last year's homicides in Baltimore. Depressed yet? Try looking at it in Black and White. posted by tkolar (59 comments total) 12 users marked this as a favorite
 
I think what you're saying, is we need to go down to Baltimore and kill more white people.
posted by not_on_display at 10:18 PM on February 5, 2008 [9 favorites]


Whitey is stabby!
posted by idiotfactory at 10:19 PM on February 5, 2008


A friend of mine was murdered in Baltimore a couple of years ago :(

My ex-gf's rowhouse in downtown baltimore was robbed in the middle of the day while she was IMing with me upstairs. She walked downstairs to make lunch and came back up and typed: "I think somebody just walked in my backdoor and stole my tv, stereo and DVD player."

On the plus side, it's pretty easy to score pot there.
posted by empath at 10:28 PM on February 5, 2008 [1 favorite]


Hey, only 5 murders in my old ZIP code!
posted by dhammond at 10:32 PM on February 5, 2008


Also previously.
posted by dhammond at 10:35 PM on February 5, 2008


Is it weird that the only two "others" were murdered mere blocks from each other?
posted by Brocktoon at 10:36 PM on February 5, 2008


Chris and Snoop have been busy.
posted by Bonzai at 11:05 PM on February 5, 2008 [3 favorites]


The LA homicide map mashup. Interesting how the NY homicide map mashup ends in 2005. Why?
posted by nickyskye at 11:05 PM on February 5, 2008


Landsman's gonna be pissed.
posted by nonliteral at 11:18 PM on February 5, 2008 [1 favorite]


I wish I had the slightest clue how to help bring the murder rate down. Downtown Baltimore seems a lot more foreign to me than many of the foreign places I've been.
posted by tkolar at 11:22 PM on February 5, 2008


Does this include the bodies found in Marlo's vacants?
posted by mulligan at 12:17 AM on February 6, 2008


Yeah, they pulled them out quick so they'd go on Royce's stats.
posted by sneakums at 12:18 AM on February 6, 2008


try white: male and female

then try black: male and female
posted by graham1881 at 12:40 AM on February 6, 2008


That is quite insane, Black America is tearing itself apart isn't it.

The saddest thing is, nobody in mainstream (white) society seems to give a fuck.
They really do need to kill more white people.
posted by fullerine at 1:17 AM on February 6, 2008


The saddest thing is, nobody in mainstream (white) society seems to give a fuck.
They really do need to kill more white people.


Yeah, because obviously what America needs right now is to embrace the concept of the 'white man's burden' and start bringing civilization to the black savages living within their own borders, right fullerine?
posted by PeterMcDermott at 2:19 AM on February 6, 2008 [2 favorites]


Yeah, that's exactly what I meant.
posted by fullerine at 2:52 AM on February 6, 2008 [2 favorites]


Yeah, because obviously what America needs right now is to embrace the concept of the 'white man's burden' and start bringing civilization to the black savages living within their own borders, right fullerine?

You are the most wickedly biting satirist of conservative thought on mefi.
posted by srboisvert at 3:53 AM on February 6, 2008


fullerine writes "That is quite insane, Black America is tearing itself apart isn't it.

"The saddest thing is, nobody in mainstream (white) society seems to give a fuck.
"They really
do need to kill more white people."

Yeah. The answer to "too many black people getting killed" isn't "try to decrease the number of black people getting killed", but "increase the number of white people getting killed".
posted by Bugbread at 4:09 AM on February 6, 2008 [2 favorites]


Man, fuck Marlo. Prop Joe would never have left so many bodies. I guess Prop Joe just wanted it to be one way. But it's the other way.
posted by cyclopticgaze at 4:10 AM on February 6, 2008


Mashup? Isn't this just a use of google's API, or is DJ DangerMouse involved somehow?
posted by Eideteker at 4:38 AM on February 6, 2008 [2 favorites]


This is a real, very scary map. The Wire is doing it's best to bring these figures to light, but making jokes about it is just diluting the power of the show.

White v Black murder maps look similar in many large cities in this country and it's illustrating a real divide. Philadelphia for instanc
posted by splatta at 4:38 AM on February 6, 2008


I love this town.
posted by sidereal at 4:52 AM on February 6, 2008


You are the most wickedly biting satirist of conservative thought on mefi.

I think you're confusing me with Mr President Dr Elvis Steve America/"Tex" Connor and his Wily Roundup Boys.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 4:57 AM on February 6, 2008


Things in Philly are looking up at the moment, if only slightly. We ended off the 2006 homicide numbers by a significant percentage, though I think sociologist/criminologist types will be hard pressed to find an explanation why considering that at the very end of last summer when things started to quiet down the Street administration was at the peak of its lame duckness and since ousted Police Chief Sylvester Johnson was completely grasping at straws.

It's strange, for work at that point I was in these pockets of high violent crime pretty much all day, every day. I noted in my journal on October 3rd that "things have been strangely uneventful out there recently." At the end of the summer it was like street foot traffic in these neighborhoods dried up even though it was still unseasonably warm out. Totally inexplicable. Two weeks after this the news media was on it, pointing out this significant drop in violent crime that carried through the end of the year.

Believe me, in the months prior to that it was complete insanity out there. You didn't need to be in these neighborhoods very long to know that something really bad was going down and I eventually wound up changing jobs to something that took me into the Badlands a little less. My friends and family were seriously pleading with me to change jobs before I got killed. Then...poof. After they hit this fever pitch the streets got quiet again.

Since then we've had a change of administration and a new police chief and there's been quite a bit of action on reorganizing and redeploying law enforcement more effectively. Clearly, law enforcement is only one small piece of a very complicated puzzle when attempting to reduce violent crime, but our new mayor Nutter has pretty decent ideas across the board. Now it depends on whether the bullshit tar pit of Philly politics will completely stall his initiatives. I feel about as optimistic for the most disadvantaged sections of Philly as I ever have right now, but I think it's also wise to keep low expectations with respect to poverty and violent crime in America in general.
posted by The Straightener at 5:03 AM on February 6, 2008 [2 favorites]


Vaguely related and most likely already seen on the Blue: What Do Real Thugs Think of The Wire?

Season 5 spoilers, plus wild gangsta speculation (including slash?).
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:28 AM on February 6, 2008


As a Philadelphia citizen, I'm excited about Michael Nutter and the fact that they're going to be revamping the policing system. However, with over 450 murders here last year I think this city as a whole has a ways to go. Philadelphia doesn't have as large a percentage gap of black v white citizens as Baltimore does, but it's just as divided.

There are way too many pieces to this puzzle to make much sense of it in the short term, but it seems endemic, and like any social problem will take a long time and the right people to fix.
posted by splatta at 5:37 AM on February 6, 2008



North Avenue is Baltimore's all-season outdoor drug supermarket. White suburbanites have easy access via Rt. 40 from the East and 83 (Jones Falls X) from the North: drive downtown, it's all for sale

My ex-gf's rowhouse in downtown baltimore was robbed in the middle of the day while she was IMing with me upstairs. She walked downstairs to make lunch and came back up and typed: "I think somebody just walked in my backdoor and stole my tv, stereo and DVD player."


But that's not all. I'm too lazy to find the statistics but Baltimore has one of the highest per capita rates of heroin addiction in the country. Your ex-gf was ripped off by a junkie looking for quick cash. Needless to say, these junkies are not sallow-skinned hipsters getting back at the 'rents. So, you have reliable local market for heroin in black neighboorhoods which are convenient bracketed by North Avenue.
posted by geos at 6:05 AM on February 6, 2008


B-more has more blacks than whites, so I'm sure if you were to take into account that imbalance and create a "normalized" homicide rate based upon the ratio of blacks:whites, there would appear a higher white and lower black homicide rate.

But it would still be appalling.
posted by cyclopticgaze at 6:06 AM on February 6, 2008


It seems to me that the number of 'black people' being killed has nothing to do with 'white people' or 'mainstream' society. How about if the 'black people' who kill others were to stop fucking killing people?

Unless someone has a version of this which shows how 'white' people are the ones killing 'black' people...
posted by sfts2 at 6:18 AM on February 6, 2008


That is quite insane, Black America is tearing itself apart isn't it.

The saddest thing is, nobody in mainstream (white) society seems to give a fuck.
They really do need to kill more white people.


Ugh. First of all, killing more white people wouldn't help anything at all, secondly it's not like all black people are out shooting each other every day. This is the result of a small gang subculture which is mostly African American. It's not something the average black person is involved in (Obviously) So the idea that "Black America" is in some dire straits is ridiculous.

Of course it's a problem for people living in these communities, but this is just gang bangers out killing each other.

Anyway. I think if you ended the War on Drugs, you'd end a lot of this stuff. Illegal drugs are the fuel of this kind of violence. But you don't see people out there being killed over Wellbutrin or Nicotine (Two extremely addictive drugs).

But if drugs were legal, these violent gangs would lose funding and evaporate. If they tried to move on to organized 'real' crime like theft or extortion, the community wouldn't stand for it, whereas with the current situation there is no real risk as long as you play by the "rules" (i.e. don't snitch)

That's my hypothesis anyway. You don't see this kind of violence in the Netherlands.
posted by delmoi at 6:24 AM on February 6, 2008 [1 favorite]


Believe me, in the months prior to that it was complete insanity out there. You didn't need to be in these neighborhoods very long to know that something really bad was going down and I eventually wound up changing jobs to something that took me into the Badlands a little less. My friends and family were seriously pleading with me to change jobs before I got killed. Then...poof. After they hit this fever pitch the streets got quiet again.

Oooh. Perhaps it was a gang war, and one side won?
posted by delmoi at 6:27 AM on February 6, 2008


On the plus side, it's pretty easy to score pot there.

And also, syphilis!
posted by inigo2 at 6:34 AM on February 6, 2008


The mob probably told the gangbangers to cut that shit out...its bad for business.
posted by sfts2 at 6:36 AM on February 6, 2008


I heart city life.
posted by wastelands at 6:37 AM on February 6, 2008


You don't see this kind of violence in the Netherlands.

Or in Hamsterdam.
posted by brain_drain at 6:42 AM on February 6, 2008


You don't see this kind of violence in the Netherlands.

Murder is rare enough it usually makes the (printed) news. A police shooting is so rare it often is on national TV news. Maps like the ones in this article are unthinkable over here.

The Netherlands is not paradise, and we do plenty of things wrong, and there's lots of things that could use improvement. But this particular issue, well, I'm quite happy with the way things are.
posted by DreamerFi at 6:59 AM on February 6, 2008


The Wire.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 7:15 AM on February 6, 2008


Oooh. Perhaps it was a gang war, and one side won?

A gangwar between North, West and Southwest Philly? We're talking about a geographic area that spans from one end of the city to the other. We've got ghettos that stretch for miles.
posted by The Straightener at 7:23 AM on February 6, 2008


Regarding Philly, I heard that Nutter will be installing, or wants to put CCD cameras in high-violence areas. This would set up a UK-style surveillance system. I don't know if this is true or not – can any Philadelphians confirm?
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 7:37 AM on February 6, 2008


You don't see this kind of violence in the Netherlands.

No, the three people non-Dutch people in Holland are generally pretty peaceful. Meanwhile the places where the Dutch colonized populations or got rich by shipping massive amounts of slaves end up like this, go figure?
posted by Pollomacho at 8:04 AM on February 6, 2008 [2 favorites]


Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.
posted by aerotive at 8:08 AM on February 6, 2008 [1 favorite]


Regarding Philly, I heard that Nutter will be installing, or wants to put CCD cameras in high-violence areas. This would set up a UK-style surveillance system. I don't know if this is true or not – can any Philadelphians confirm?

New police chief Ramsey's recently released blueprint for crime reduction says, yes:

"Surveillance cameras are excellent tools to document and
prosecute criminals, but their mere presence has a dramatic
deterrent effect, thus preventing crime in the immediate area.
Accordingly, the Philadelphia Police Department will strive to
expand its existing surveillance camera program from twenty-six to
250 cameras by December 31, 2008."
posted by The Straightener at 8:10 AM on February 6, 2008


Clearly, they need more guns. An armed society is a polite society.
posted by LordSludge at 8:29 AM on February 6, 2008


wow, those results are really sad,

I'm glad I live here in Vienna where according to this article the murder rate is 10% of what it is in my hometown of Houston.

With all the immigration problems over here and hundreds of years of hate, you might think it would be opposite...
posted by Slash_fan at 8:34 AM on February 6, 2008


Thanks, Jeff.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:51 AM on February 6, 2008


Anyway. I think if you ended the War on Drugs, you'd end a lot of this stuff. Illegal drugs are the fuel of this kind of violence. But you don't see people out there being killed over Wellbutrin or Nicotine (Two extremely addictive drugs).

Pscychotropic drugs have been for sale on the streets of New Orleans since Katrina, at least. Poor people don't have health coverage to cover these drugs. The idea that "legal" drugs aren't sold on the streets has long been a canard regardless.
posted by raysmj at 9:00 AM on February 6, 2008


Psychotropic, rather. Li'l Wayne talks about being a "prisoner locked behind Xanex bars" on I Feel Like Dying.
posted by raysmj at 9:02 AM on February 6, 2008


. . . Wellbutrin or Nicotine (Two extremely addictive drugs)

Delmoi, I generally agree with the rest of your comment, but could you offer any credible evidence of wellbutrin being extremely addictive? Or, even just addictive?
posted by Zetetics at 9:16 AM on February 6, 2008


No, the three people non-Dutch people in Holland are generally pretty peaceful. Meanwhile the places where the Dutch colonized populations or got rich by shipping massive amounts of slaves end up like this, go figure?

I know - and you're right, of course. I was only talking about current events, locally in the region next to the herring pond. When it comes to overseas activities, I'd recommend the articles you linked to, and a visit to this museum. There is plenty dark pages in our history book.
posted by DreamerFi at 10:35 AM on February 6, 2008 [2 favorites]


Baltimore has a few different camera systems. The newest one is the Citiwatch system.
posted by zoinks at 12:06 PM on February 6, 2008


The Chief of Police New York City said upon release of murder stats a years ago that unless you were a young black or latino man between the ages of 18 and 26 your odds of being murdered in NYC were almost zero.
posted by pianomover at 12:18 PM on February 6, 2008


They don't call it Bodymore for nothing.
posted by bwg at 5:28 PM on February 6, 2008


The timing on this is really bizarre, as we just had the lowest Jan. in 30 years (since before crack) for murders.

I'd point out that Baltimore just added crack to heroin, rather than crack replacing heroin, and that US society seems to be quite happy with poor black folks killing themselves with drugs and guns, and that my former home, Detroit, is even worse off, racially and murder-wise, but that would distract the Wire snark, so why bother?
posted by QIbHom at 5:52 PM on February 6, 2008 [1 favorite]


Thanks for this.
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:35 PM on February 6, 2008


Visually, here is how the map matches up with locations from The Wire.

(the first link is kind of a self link -- screen capture hosted on my own page...sorry).
posted by ztdavis at 8:58 PM on February 6, 2008


When I was growing up in DC, it was occasionally remarked that I was probably the safest kid walking down the street, as I was the white one. Fucked up, but accurate.
posted by Football Bat at 10:36 PM on February 6, 2008


DAMN. You want to know where all the bodies are in New York City homicide map? Check out the Bronx.

Oh... THERE they are. :)
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 10:53 PM on February 6, 2008


I heard that Nutter will be installing, or wants to put CCD cameras in high-violence areas. This would set up a UK-style surveillance system.

So breathless! When anti-crime cameras are being seriously considered by towns of fewer than 2000 people, they seem like something that has already arrived. My city of 60,000 has a police chief with experience using cameras back in his former job in California, and he's been here almost two years. The town where five women were murdered in a mall this week (a "village" the same size as my city) has municipal cameras.
posted by dhartung at 12:08 AM on February 7, 2008


New police chief Ramsey's recently released blueprint for crime reduction says, yes:

I think that's the perfect solution to cities where the police forces are failing:

Ramsey's Policing Nightmares.

In which Chef Ramsay suddenly appears in police headquarters and watches them complete a single shift.

"You! Call yourself a policeman? You're just a lazy fucker. You drive around in your squad car all night, eating donuts and drinking coffee. Whenever there are whores to be arrested, you've got your hand out, looking for a freebie, but when there are bad guys needing their collar felt, you're nowhere to be seen.

Is this the kind of police you wanted to be when you graduated Police Academy? Where's your passion, man? Where's your sense of self-worth, of pride in the job?

Listen, you little fucker. I paid a secret visit to those cells this morning, and they were absolutely minging. I wouldn't lock Ted Bundy in those cells, let alone Avon Barksdale. This police business is all about service. And when we lock up a killer once, we want them to keep coming back! Tell all their friends, 'The cops in B'more are some goddam professional motherfuckers. None of that corny old using the photocopier as a lie detector shit -- they get confessions out of you the old fashioned way, by sourcing the highest quality evidence from local suppliers, by presenting it simply, and with care, and by having a staff team that's second to none.'

Now get out there and stop them from knocking each other dead!"
posted by PeterMcDermott at 5:17 AM on February 7, 2008 [1 favorite]


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