Baltimore is poised to end the year with the fewest homicides in more than a decade, and nonfatal shootings are down from a year ago. But images of the city as unsafe persist.
This has long been a challenge for the city’s businesses that rely on visitors and customers from across the region and beyond. Even with the homicide rate down 23% and at a 12-year low, some say long-entrenched narratives won’t change overnight.
It will take more than a few years of declining numbers for Baltimore to overcome a “murder capital” characterization that has built up over decades, some business owners said.
“The numbers going down are huge,” said Benn Ray, president of the Hampden Village Merchants Association. “But when [people] hear about a murder, it reinforces the stereotype that people who live outside the city and are afraid to go into the city will use to confirm their perceptions.”
As of Friday morning, the city had recorded 183 homicides, compared to 239 at this time in 2023. If that pace continues, it would mean 200 homicides for the year, the fewest since 2012.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has defended the effectiveness of community violence intervention programs that help mediate potentially violent conflicts in places like Brooklyn in South Baltimore, which has gone more than a year without one. murder.
“Changing negative perceptions of Baltimore — and public safety in particular, especially downtown — depends heavily on significant and sustained reductions in violent crime,” said Shelonda Stokes, president of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore.
There is “clear momentum building,” she said. “The declines experienced last year and continuing this year support our efforts to promote our many downtown assets.”
Factors beyond homicides are affecting business
Business leaders said it may be difficult to isolate a declining homicide rate as a factor in improving business. Ray, owner of Atomic Books in Hampden, said his business has been strong in the wake of the COVID-related lockdowns, in part because he has a loyal customer base from in and out of town.
Shirlé Koslowski, co-owner of Baby’s On Fire store and cafe in Mount Vernon, said she’s glad the number of murders is down.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t notice anything different,” she said.
Baltimore Homicide Database
Ray and other business owners said they tend to see the biggest increases at times of peak activity downtown or elsewhere in the city, such as Orioles and Ravens games, large conventions and festivals and other events.
“The more vibrant Baltimore City is, the better it is for all of us,” Ray said.
Others say they’ve worked with other neighborhood businesses to address customer concerns, finding where some say the city has fallen short. Some merchants have taken it upon themselves to promote their neighborhoods and offer extras like security, valet parking and paid parking assistance.
Beth Hawks, owner of Zelda Zen jewelry and gift boutique in Fells Point, sometimes hands out $2 bills to customers to help them offset parking costs. Dealers work with the Waterfront Partnership to get people to walk customers to their cars.
Hawks said relief from the record killings has been overshadowed by concerns about juvenile crime. She continues to see Baltimore County residents reluctant to enter the city.
“Is it safe to walk on the street?”
Data from the City State’s Attorney’s Office shows an increase in cases in Baltimore, with 590 cases involving juveniles charged in the first six months of 2024, compared to 655 cases in all of 2023. Cases charged last year were almost double the number from 2022 when there were 334 cases charged.
“People from the county will come for the Orioles, the Ravens and the conventions, but they’re not going to walk down the street and have dinner or come into one of our stores,” Hawks said, adding that she’s often asked, “Is safe to walk on the street?”
Hawks offers advice, telling her clients to put down their cell phones, ditch the cords and pay attention. If concerns arise, she tells them, visitors can always walk into the nearest business or knock on someone’s door.
“We all look out for each other,” she said.
In a year that has been especially tough economically as more consumers make online shopping a permanent habit, it makes him wonder, “Will Baltimore ever come out of the bottom? [HBO crime drama ] ‘Wire?'” she said.
“It’s up to each person who owns a business to promote their neighborhood and other businesses,” Hawks said. “It is up to us to support each other. This city is filled with some of the best vendors.
In Little Italy, Cafe Gia owner Giovanna Blatterman said the perception of crime has had an impact on business, but that “things are picking up a little bit,” something she said she started noticing in late summer.
“People have come in and I feel like they’re a little less nervous,” she said. “We are doing everything we can to help the situation.”
Security guards, lighting and cameras help with perception
Neighborhood restaurants have security guards and received a state grant to add video cameras and lighting in both business and residential areas.
Starting on Thanksgiving, Blatterman will join forces with Sabatino’s, Benny’s Baltimore and Chiapparelli to restore valet parking for Little Italy restaurants in a few years. The restaurants will use a shared delivery space at Fawn and High streets.
“This is our gift to bring people back from the county,” a segment of business that had to weather the slower months of November, December and January, she said.
Mark Anthony Thomas, president and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee, believes the city and region need an economic rebrand to begin changing the narrative.
The business advocacy group is close to completing an initiative with the help of place branding agency Resonance Consultancy Ltd. and market research firm Ipsos to create a brand strategy focused on the business and quality of life sectors.
Part of the effort is aimed at attracting entrepreneurs and other businesses to the city and region. Improving crime statistics and factors such as energy costs, the tax environment and the availability of talent and places will influence this, he said.
“A one-year milestone is not enough by itself,” Thomas said of what he called a significant drop in crime. “But it gives you a sense that there is a concerted effort to address what is one of Baltimore’s lingering issues.”
“The message we can then send to the wider investment community and businesses looking for new markets is that we are moving in the right direction,” Thomas said.
Got a news tip? Contact Lorraine Mirabella at lmirabella@baltsun.com, (410) 332-6672 and @lmirabella at X.