Horrific Death Tolls: Where Maryland Ranks
Cities With The Biggest Homicide Rate Problems
With the homicide rate having decreased by an average of roughly 5% in 40 of the biggest U.S. cities between Q3 2021 and Q3 2023, WalletHub released its report on the cities with the biggest homicide rate problems, along with expert commentary.
In order to determine which cities have the biggest homicide problems, WalletHub compared 40 of the largest U.S. cities based on per capita homicides in Q3 2023 as well as per capita homicides in Q3 2023 vs. Q3 2022 and Q3 2021. A sad reality is that Washington DC is the city listed with the biggest homicide rates, with Baltimore not too far behind.
“I do not think we are so much in need of new solutions; we already have a good idea of what works,” said Dennis Mares, Professor and Director of the Center for Crime Science and Violence Prevention at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. “I think we need honest policymakers. The right needs to acknowledge that having no restrictions on firearms impacts the ease with which high-risk people can access firearms, whereas the left should acknowledge that de-policing and de-prosecuting are not sound strategies. As our nation's politics has polarized, crime and violence are in need of pragmatic, centrist policies.”
“Prediction is very risky in social science! I will say that crime in America tends to be ‘wave-like.’ No one really wants high crime rates. We usually come up with ways of responding,” said Gary D. LaFree, Distinguished University Professor, and Founding Director of the START Center at the University of Maryland.
WalletHub also asked if more homicides would renew the police's reputation or have the opposite effect. “I am not sure that crime rates necessarily impact police reputation,” said Mares. “While a small but vocal segment of our society has called for defunding the police, the majority of our nation continues to support professional policing, something surveys continue to show. Police do have a recruitment problem, but this is more an outcome of our labor market conditions. Police departments should reach broader, and that means more actively recruiting Black and Brown officers, but especially female officers.”
To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit:
