I was up in Parkville bored out of my head, and raced over when the call came over. When O'Conor arrived at the scene, there were eight other squad cars disgorging Baltimore County police around the house. Several officers went to the door and began to examine the puddle of crimson gore, while repeated calls and knocks went unanswered. The cops fanned out around the house. Another car arrived, carrying a homicide detective, who walked up to the door, bent over the red pool, and looked up to the night sky.
City equals crime, county equals safety.
The perception of the city as a war zone is what caused the initial population flight of years ago, and it continues to erode what's left of the city's middle class. Many downtown corporations are also considering moving to where the majority of their workers now live. The public's concern about crime does provide a big boost to some corporations, namely security companies. But the raw numbers don't tell the story of a few deadly neighborhoods where the majority of killings occur. The solution for some is private security companies.