A Baltimore Police Department analysis of the city's 211 homicides last year offers some intriguing data, including the types of weapons and profiles of the victims. Some examples:
Weapons: Handguns were most common weapon, being used in 160 homicides. After that, the category "knife/sharp object" was cited in 33 incidents. There were 12 killings categorized as "blunt force/beating."
Victims: Black people were the majority of homicide victims — 190 were killed during the year. Most of the victims, 189, were male.
Nearly half of the victims were in the 18-29 age group. Eighty percent had criminal records — ranging from minor offenses to violent crimes — but fewer than 15 percent were suspected gang members.
Suspects: The analysis listed 83 suspects for the homicides, because about half of the year's cases have not been closed. More than 85 percent of the suspects had been arrested before. In fact, the average suspect had been arrested 10 times. About 67 percent of the suspects had been arrested for violent crimes, and 40 percent had previous gun arrests.
Less than 11 percent of suspects were linked to gangs, police said. But even though nine suspects and 30 victims were alleged gang members, 80 of the killings were "gang associated," according to the police analysis.
Homicides by the numbers
Some data from a police analysis of last year's 211 homicides in Baltimore:
80 – percentage of victims with a criminal record
86 – percentage of suspects with a criminal record
10.4 – average number of arrests per victim
9.6 – average number of arrests per suspect
Source: Baltimore Police Department homicide unit