Analysis Of Freddy Gray 's Death And The Dilemma Of The Baltimore City Riots

Baltimore city had a strong economy, and it was among the top prosperous cities in the United States (U.S)leadingin wages, jobs, and industries up until the 1950s. Since the 1960s, however, the city has seen a decline in its economy as a result of systematic governance failures. Recently, Baltimore has been experiencing an increase in homicide unlike prior years, and in fact, by the end of 2015, various law enforcement organizations predict the city will break its homicide record. As a citizen, Baltimore’s murder rate is a crucial issue to tackle than police brutality because it is symptom indicative of larger issues that need to be addressed and solved in the black community. Three major issues often talked about in Baltimore

The most controversial topic of the ending year of 2014, and the beginning year of 2015, the Ferguson, Missouri police brutality case. Not only has the topic of police brutality been strongly talked about in the recent years, it has also been acknowledged in the late 1900’s and early 2000’s. I understand that in some cases police brutality may be very true, but I don’t believe it should be something blown out of proportion just because a white cop wounded or shot an African American individual. Police brutality is very much over exaggerated in our generation, I believe a police officer should use whatever force they have to for their protection.

In cities like Baltimore, Maryland, and Chicago, the worst cities for urban youth, teen crime is not extraordinary. The poverty-ridden towns further provide reason and excuse for crime. Now this can be caused by many things, but the key ones are for money to provide basic needs and a way to obtain material goods that could not be obtained lawfully. In “The Other Wes Moore” by Wes Moore, two impoverished teens growing up in Baltimore experience very different lives, one will find himself on top of the world, and the other far below in a state prison.

Three correlates of criminality in the film were: poverty, mental health status, and family circumstances. The neighborhood, Beecher Terrace was the low-income area where most of the prisoners and juveniles delinquents came from. Neighborhoods like the one in film are the stereotypical type of areas where people in poverty live. The neighborhoods contain large populations of low income residents. A low income neighborhood typically means the schools zoned to the neighborhood are low quality and the crime rate is high. A individuals mental health status is also a predictor of

The 1960s was a time for change. It promoted on going expectations of equality for all races. This proved to be difficult for minorities. In August of 1965, civil unrest broke out, which lead to six-day revolt called the Watts Riot. Nearly thirty years later another riot broke out which caused even greater damage and left an even greater impact in our history, the Rodney King Riots. Both of these events share similar qualities and devastating damages, however, their meanings are much harder to decipher from one another. These impactful events in our society demonstrate how much there needs to change in our society, especially when dealing with minorities.

While the population is diverse, the economic and class structure are not. The city is segregated amongst social and class lines that have caused conflict between the residence and the police force for some time (Inkeep, 2015). Because of these past interactions between the Baltimore citizens and police, the events pose sociological interests that are different from other recent riots and protests. In addition, the context is different because unlike past riots where ethnic race was a contributor, this riot was more about social injustice

Neighborhood factors include aspects such as socioeconomic status and urbanization. Socioeconomic status is one of the main correlates of crime and delinquency, and neighborhoods with low socioeconomic status often lack sufficient money and resources (Sampson and Groves 1989, 780). In the book, LaJoe was unemployed and received governmental aid every month to buy groceries, pay the rent, and support her many children. She lacked the money to buy her

In April of 2015 a 25 year old African American man named Freddie Gray, Jr was placed under arrest by the Baltimore Police Dpt. The police alleged that he was in possession of a switchblade knife; which is illegal. During the police transport Freddie Gray sustained severe spinal injuries causing him to become comatose; he was then taken to a trauma center where he ultimately died several days later. The suspicious circumstances and sustained injuries strongly suggested Police Officers used excessive force and failed to secure Mr. Gray properly during transport, and numerous individuals went as far to infer that it may have been murder.

It was activists from the wealthy and poor blocks that organized to reduce crime. These tenant activists involved city agencies and lending organizers to work to create a better a community (Snyder, 2015). The residences formed a relationship with their local police to implement social control that worked this its environment. They identified the need for formal social control as informal social control activism was not enough. The community began to bridge the gap between policy and the neighborhood. Through community activism, Washington Heights continued to see a decline in crime and the start of gentrification. Today, Washington Heights has one of the lowest crime rates in New York City and the borough of Manhattan (NYC Police, 2017). The community’s relationship with the New York City Police Department is not perfect. Areas that are predominantly people of color or lower socioeconomic status do face barriers in working with police. However, this is not an isolated issue as most of the country, especially people of color, have a negative relationship with police members. It seems to be a systemic problem within the police and how social control should be enforced. Washington Heights is an example of how communities and law enforcement can come together to change a neighborhood.

The riots in Baltimore are the result of Freddie Gray, a young man, who was a local Baltimore resident, and also a minority was pronounced dead after being taken into police custody. Instead of releasing information to the public on the reason for Gray’s death, the bureaucracy of the local police and city officials released the

When it rains, it pours; and where tragedy strikes, a war will follow. This is what comes to mind when the subject of Baltimore arises. The unexpected death of a young Baltimore man, Freddie Gray, while in police custody, sparked the flame in the city’s ongoing rage and riots. Autopsy reports showed signs of “high-energy injury “as the cause of death, suggesting neglect from the arresting officers (New York Times, 2015). When information was leaked of this tragedy, people in the community were negatively affected, and many began to riot. At this point, the question is not how to stop the rioting, but how to prevent it?

Peaceful protests the day before Gray’s death were just the beginning of a long string of outbreaks and violence. Community members were seen rallying behind their fallen friend as they peacefully protested outside of Western District Police Station. These protests slowly became more violent as protesters were met by officers. When on-duty officers could not hold back the rapidly growing crowd, all officers were called to meet the protesters. Officers alone could not hold back the enraged community as the National Guard was called in by the Governor of Maryland to reinforce officers. Peaceful protests turned to rage filled riots as police vehicles and officers themselves became victim of communal hatred. The night of April 27th had sent many officers to receive medical treatment as the riots poured into the business district (Timeline: Freddie Gray’s…). Small stores and even homes were ransacked and burned by rioters in the streets of Baltimore. Cleanup efforts quickly ensued in the city and riots still raged on. May 1st is when the community could finally take its first breath after a month. All six officers were charged in the case of Freddie Gray with the most severe being second degree depraved heart murder (Charges against

One of the biggest problems we have is crime, poverty, and race. Crime never seems to go away, and it tends to affect certain areas more than others. When a community is plagued with crime then everyone starts to look at the community that it is affecting, the housing in the area and the race that is mostly affected or committing the crimes. This can create a domino effect, because the citizens are scared, victimized, and they begins to worry more about how they will be able to protect there family and if anyone cares what is happening in their community. Therefore, within this report we will examine statistical data from different areas and see if there is a trend with a particular group, race, or city and compare the data so that we can gain a better understanding of the collection of this data and make suggestions if at all possible on way to improve the data once it has been reviewed.

(UCR Publications,2012) Though it may sound that I currently live in a city where the crime rate is higher than other cities in the US but I live on a golf course where the majority of the neighbors are older and wealthy. Like every city there’s a good side of town and a bad side. Not to be stereotypical but most of the crimes occur in those parts of town, usually in the area were low income people live. As well as homeless people may be found. I don’t want to seem biased either because even in the good parts of town these crimes may occur. The patterns that are seen here is that the crime start very high it stays like that for a while, then it suddenly drops as newer generation start to grow and begin to experiment or begin to get involve in unhealthy habits, or their environment is compromised.

This map was used to determine the crime ratio in areas of the City of New Carrollton Maryland between the dates July of 2015 to October of 2015. The crimes displayed are in regards to burglary, robbery, and auto theft. Displayed on the map are symbols that display what type of crime was committed in a certain area, these crimes include: three different types of auto theft totaling 95 crimes, burglary commercial totaling 62 crimes, burglary on residential areas totaling 113 crimes, burglaries committed at schools totaling 7 crimes, burglaries where vehicles were taken by force totaling 168 crimes, grand theft from motor vehicles totaling 16 crimes, petty theft from motor vehicles totaling 72 crimes, Robberies at banks totaling 1 crime, Robbery