How the Coronavirus Pandemic Fed Baltimore’s Violent Crime Problem
As the wrath of the coronavirus persisted, so did the city’s vast collection of violent crimes, which couldn’t be curtailed by stay-at-home orders or contained by other restrictions.
The coronavirus crept into Baltimore in the middle of March, amid the city’s usual variety of carjackings, commercial break-ins, and wild not-so-west chaos. At first, it introduced itself as a temporary problem. The danger it posed seemed straightforward: contact with the virus could lead to death. Baltimore reacted to it by shutting the doors of its businesses. People made panicked purchases as they prepared to go into temporary hibernation. They were the locusts of their local grocery stores. First, they ransacked the fresh vegetables and frozen meat section. Afterward, they plowed through the bread aisle, the canned goods, and the paper products. Then, most of them hid from the deadly virus until they were tired of hiding from it. But by that time, the pathogen had nestled into its new home and begun to show that the dangers it posed were far more diverse. It didn’t just put at risk the health of Baltimore’s roughly 590,000 residents; rather, it put into jeopardy the economic welfare and security of the entire city.