Same old programs won’t fix Baltimore’s murder rate

Regarding The Sun’s “Alternative fact of the week” (Feb. 10) about Baltimore’s alarming murder rate, like most liberal commentaries on the subject, it cites as the “real causal factors” for our city’s war zone environments the “high concentration of poverty, its drug addiction epidemic, our poor performing schools, stark divisions by race and income, the lack of entry-level jobs, and loss of trust in the police department tarnished by the Freddie Gray case.” In other words, the same old attribution to external factors that can only be solved by external government aid and programs, which have been funded again and again for over 60 years with little or no progress made.

While the liberal intent is likely altruistic and well-meaning, it is based on flawed circular reasoning and completely avoids any attribution of personal responsibility. It assumes that our disadvantaged neighborhoods are neither capable nor willing to do anything to help themselves, portraying them as mere “victims” to be rescued.

To counteract our city’s entrenched criminal culture and homicide epidemic takes strong policing. Any arguments for a “kinder and gentler” police department only provide a strong incentive for expansion of criminal activities. When a rogue or racist cop is caught in the act, they should suffer sure and swift consequences. But to presume that the entire department should be chastised and rule-bound is both illogical and counterproductive, and it puts the decent families in our poverty areas at increased risk.

I admire and support Mayor Catherine Pugh’s dedication to eradicating or diminishing our alarming murder rates. If successful, it benefits all of us, not just those living in our impoverished neighborhoods. But let those discussing their plan not assume that doing the same thing we’ve tried for decades will produce different results.