Baltimore a bad area?

Question

According to Wikipedia, there were 269 murders in Baltimore in 2005, ranking it second to Detroit as the most dangerous city in the United States. Is this true?

Answer 1

Is that figure true? From what I've heard it is. Thats down from the over 300 murders a year that we've had just a few years before.

Is it the 2nd most dangerous city in the US? I guess thats subjective, but if you're basing it on the murder count then one would have to say yes.

As an aside, most of the murders that occur are drug related, not that it makes them mean anything less.

Answer 2

To say that all of Baltimore is a dangerous place would be misleading. However, per person, Baltimore has one of the highest murder and violent crime rates in the country. In fact, over the past 5 years, population has waddled back and forth from stalling to regressing and back again.
A majority of the violence is directly linked to drug and gang related activity - which has continued to grow in urban Baltimore. If one were to divide the city into good and bad parts, then you have to look no further than MLK Blvd for the dividing point. From the MLK east, generally the crime numbers are on par with other large cities in the Mid-Atlantic. West of the MLK, which harbors most of the drug and gang centers in the city, crime rates skyrocket. Indeed, from the northwestern side of the city down to Camden Yards is the area that is most dangerous - percentage wise.
Baltimore does have some extremely safe parts as well though, including Hamden and Mt. Vernon, etc. As within any big city, it is always important to be on your guard, but certainly enjoy what the city of Baltimore has to offer - especially the Inner Harbor, which is generally very safe.