Baltimore On Track for Fewest Murders Since 1970

Los Angeles city in 2024 got over the pandemic spike and back on to the recentish slow decline in 2024.

Los Angeles sees fewer than 300 murders for first time in five years​

After shocking spike in deaths, homicide count is back to pre-COVID level

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So far in almost 4 months of 2025, up to 4/26 at time of writing, there are 72 murders compared to 106 in the same period last year (and 94 in 2023).

That would track out to ~220 for the year, which would be the lowest in decades.

Thanks, Obama!

Huh! This is all great!!

Hillary's server!

https://realestate.usnews.com/places/rankings/most-dangerous-places

Wow crazy. So the most dangerous states are led by Republicans now.

I wonder if they'll still keep trotting Chicago out anytime they need dems. to look soft on crime or encouraging violence.

iluvatar5150 said:

Salt Lake City is #13 but Baltimore doesn't crack the top 25? I'ma have to see the methodology on that one.

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SAid it considered "murder rate and property crime" as reported by FBI.

What's McNulty gonna do?

It seems like a lot of cities implemented more "surgical" targeting of violent crime hot spots.

For instance, Atlanta implemented something called "Operation Heatwave" that was a city/county/state collaborative effort to do a massive 16-week sweep/crackdown on gang activity in a massive sweep.

Many major city's prosecutors have also stepped up in their bringing charges against people engaging in gang activity (in circumstances where they may have let some things slide in the past, or used prosecutorial discretion to bring lower charges against people)

For example, in D.C. alone, the district attorney's office:
increased its prosecution rate to over 50% of arrests in early 2024, up from 31% in fiscal 2022


With regards to Baltimore:
Baltimore prosecutors under State’s Attorney Ivan Bates have been charging more individuals and pursuing more serious charges since he took office in early 2023. This shift is part of a broader strategy to address violent crime and restore public confidence in the justice system

The number of prosecutors increased from 141 to 185.

New divisions were established to handle tasks like reviewing body camera footage and assisting victims and witnesses, specialized in breaking through the 'no snitches' culture that exists in some neighborhoods.

These changes have enabled prosecutors to focus more on building and trying cases, leading to longer sentences and fewer dropped cases.



However, it would appear that some of the tactics used are getting a certain measure of pushback from defense attorneys.

For instance, an increased percentage of juveniles aged 15+ are getting charged as adults for gang-related crimes.

And the "drop & recharge" approach has gotten a little scrutiny as well


(I guess the rationale is, if the prosecutors need more time to build up a solid case, and the judge is refusing to grant them a continuance/postponement for whatever reason, they simply drop the charges temporarily, and then refile them in a few days until, rinse & repeat, until they find the a judge who will give them the time they need)


While not quite the same thing as the "forum shopping" I've elaborated on before, it's in the same theme.

Basically, if a prosecutor's case gets assigned to a judge who has a "softer on crime" track record, drop & refile until you get the "tough on crime" judge so that you have better luck with pressing bigger charges, and locking the person away for longer.

"Questionable tactics"?....a bit, but it's going to be hard to rally public opinion against those practices given they seem to be having a decent success rate with regards to lowering violent crime.

These 5 cities help explain why homicide rates are down across the U.S.​

Homicides are down nearly 20 percent this year in 52 of America’s largest cities, a decline that spans both red states and blue states.

L.A. sees lowest homicide rate in decades — but why killings are down is up for debate​

According to tentative numbers reported by the LAPD through Dec. 31, the city tallied 230 homicides in 2025 — a nearly 19% decrease from the year before. Police investigators are still reviewing the circumstances* of several deaths, but if the current figure holds up, it would be the fewest killings since 1966, when the population was almost 30% smaller.

Measuring per capita, it was the city’s safest year since 1959.

The latest homicide total number might seem unthinkable to some who lived in L.A. in the 1990s, when the city gained a reputation as the gang capital of the United States and annual killings eclipsed 1,000 several times.

[I thought it was quite a milestone when it got to less than a murder a day, and it's gone down another third.]

But it’s clear that killings are plummeting in L.A. and elsewhere. Compared to 2024, homicides were down dramatically in Washington (31%), Chicago (30%), New York City (21%) and San Francisco (20%) — leading some researchers to call it the largest one-year drop on record.

[As for Baltimore:]

2025 crime data shows Baltimore records lowest homicide rate in nearly 50 years​

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*Also still pending determination is the Dec. 31 shooting of 43-year-old Keith “Pooter” Porter, who was killed by an off-duty federal immigration agent who confronted Porter as he reportedly fired gunshots into the air to mark the new year. Lawful killings by police officers are not included in the LAPD’s homicide total; officials have said the Porter killing remains under investigation.

[I've been keeping an eye on this, but the investigation is ongoing. DHS is backing their man, saying he stopped "an active shooter". The circumstances look more like a NYE gunfire celebration. Though that's a felony, it is probably not grounds for summary execution by ICE.]

essentialsaltes said:

*Also still pending determination is the Dec. 31 shooting of 43-year-old Keith “Pooter” Porter, who was killed by an off-duty federal immigration agent who confronted Porter as he reportedly fired gunshots into the air to mark the new year. Lawful killings by police officers are not included in the LAPD’s homicide total; officials have said the Porter killing remains under investigation.

[I've been keeping an eye on this, but the investigation is ongoing. DHS is backing their man, saying he stopped "an active shooter". The circumstances look more like a NYE gunfire celebration. Though that's a felony, it is probably not grounds for summary execution by ICE.]

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Well well well... I mean the source is a document in a custody battle, where things get nasty, but FWIW:

ICE agent who killed L.A. man accused of child abuse, racism in court filings (agent denies it all)​

The off-duty federal immigration agent who shot and killed a Los Angeles man on New Year’s Eve allegedly whipped his sons with a belt and made racist and homophobic remarks in the past, according to documents obtained by The Times.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officer Brian Palacios shot Keith Porter Jr. late on Dec. 31 at a Northridge apartment complex, according to a sworn declaration submitted by attorney Michelle Diaz in a custody dispute between Palacios’ girlfriend and her ex-husband, which was made public Thursday.

A review of court transcripts, proof of service documents and motions related to the custody battle shows Palacios is an ICE agent and confirms that he lives in a unit at the Village Pointe Apartments.

[His lawyer] Halpern said her client remained on-duty for ICE as of Friday afternoon.

According to L.A. County court orders reviewed by The Times, a judge barred Palacios from having any contact with the children from his previous marriage last February. That order was upheld last June, even after DCFS and LAPD dismissed the abuse allegations, the county court filings show.

Palacios also referred to the children’s biological father as an “illegal alien,” according to the allegations contained in court records.

Omar Escorcia, the ex-husband of Palacios’ girlfriend, told The Times that Palacios routinely made disparaging remarks about Latinos before and after custody hearings, referring to them as “wetbacks.”

Escorcia also described an alleged incident in which Palacios showed up to a youth soccer game carrying a gun, which was visible to other parents and left several people upset and concerned for their kids’ safety.

essentialsaltes said:

Well well well... I mean the source is a document in a custody battle, where things get nasty, but FWIW:

ICE agent who killed L.A. man accused of child abuse, racism in court filings (agent denies it all)​

The off-duty federal immigration agent who shot and killed a Los Angeles man on New Year’s Eve allegedly whipped his sons with a belt and made racist and homophobic remarks in the past, according to documents obtained by The Times.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officer Brian Palacios shot Keith Porter Jr. late on Dec. 31 at a Northridge apartment complex,

Click to expand...

Still info coming from a domestic dispute, but

ICE agent who killed L.A. man allegedly threatened criminal charges over being identified​

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who shot and killed a Los Angeles man on New Year’s Eve allegedly threatened his girlfriend’s ex-husband with criminal prosecution over his name being made public, according to a restraining order application and an audio recording reviewed by The Times.

The ICE agent, Brian Palacios, was first identified by The Times in January as being responsible for the killing based off of court filings in a custody dispute. Palacios was off duty when he shot Keith Porter Jr. in a Northridge apartment complex. The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.

Police said a rifle was recovered from Porter on the night he was killed. Some of Porter’s friends have suggested he was shooting the weapon into the air to celebrate the new year. Federal authorities said in the immediate aftermath of the incident that the ICE agent was responding to a suspected “active shooter” when he opened fire. Palacios’ attorney has said he acted in self-defense.

Halpern has said that Palacios returned to duty within a few weeks of the shooting. The agent has since moved out of the apartment complex.