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ROCKVILLE, MD (November 18, 2021) — Yesterday evening, Baltimore residents learned that the 300th person to be murdered in the city in 2021 was a 5-year-old girl. 
 

Christopher Summers, president and chief executive officer of the Maryland Public Policy Institute, issued the following statement in reaction to the news:
 

For a young child to be the person to mark Baltimore again crossing the dismal milestone of 300 homicides in a year confirms that this is a city beyond crisis. And, sadly, there is no reason for city residents and Marylanders at large to believe that anything will improve. Baltimore is a failed and dying city.

Mayor Scott has spent his entire adult life in city government — from staffer to Mayor — and despite his updated rhetoric, he seems to be continuing the painful policies of past administrations. As a result, Baltimore is in its seventh consecutive year of more than 300 murders. 
 

It’s no wonder Baltimore’s population has dropped by 364,000 since its peak in 1950. 
 

As a native of Baltimore City, seeing the city’s promise squandered, its streets bloodied, and its children’s futures darkened pains me. Whether or not you live in Baltimore, every Marylander should be worried about the city’s future. Baltimore is Maryland’s primary city and our state’s future is tied to its success. 
 

Transformational policy changes must be made sooner rather than later. 
 

Sean Kennedy, a visiting fellow at the Maryland Public Policy Institute, also issued a statement:
 

Mayor Scott has already failed to live up to his pledge to cut Baltimore's homicide rate by 15% in his first year. The Charm City ranks as America's big city murder capital for the 7th year in a row. The death toll over those years is eye-popping, with over 2300 Baltimoreans murdered since 2015, the same year State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby took office and then mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake told the police to give rioters "space to destroy." 
 

Baltimore is deadlier than every lawless Central American city and twice as lethal as cartel plagued Mexico. Yet, the police make arrests in less than a third of killings and only one out of ten killers see prison for their crimes. The message to Baltimore's criminals is clear -- you can kill with impunity. Feckless politicians will just wring their hands and law enforcement will stand down. 
 

Marylanders and all Americans should be ashamed that a once great American city has descended into murder and mayhem over the last decade. 

The Maryland Public Policy Institute is a nonpartisan public policy research and education organization that focuses on state policy issues. The Institute’s mission is to formulate and promote public policies at all levels of government based on principles of free enterprise, limited government, and civil society. Learn more at mdpolicy.org.

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