SPACE TO DESTROY: Dysfunction In Baltimore Police Homicide Unit Went Unaddressed As Killings Hit Historic Levels.

Victims’ families say it is devastating to watch cases go unsolved, and resent that police officials haven’t focused more directly on the issue. The department declines to say how many cold cases it has on the books, but acknowledges it’s a large number.

From 2015 to 2019, a stunning 1,660 people were killed in Baltimore. Just 654 cases were solved, a five-year clearance rate of less than 40%.

The average clearance rate for similarly sized cities in 2018 was nearly 58%, according to the most recent FBI data. Baltimore’s was less than 43% that year.

And last year Baltimore’s clearance rate was a dismal 31%. The rate includes cases cleared for reasons other than arrests, such as when suspects are killed themselves. Only 89 people were actually arrested for homicide last year, when Baltimore had 348 homicides.

Meanwhile, convictions for murder in Baltimore Circuit Court were even fewer, with just 83 last year, according to data provided by Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s office.

Baltimore’s last Republican mayor left office over 50 years ago.

(Classical reference in headline.)