Is Baltimore really as gritty and godawful dangerous as it looks on The Wire, The Corner, and Homicide?
Yes and no. The various TV versions of Baltimore do give an accurate sense of some of the city’s biggest problems, especially its well-established street trade in narcotics and the violence that goes with it; Baltimore’s per capita murder rate remains one of the highest in the country and gang-related violence is a growing threat. That said, as long as you’re not buying drugs or selling drugs or spending a lot of time where drugs are bought and sold, your chances of being the victim of a violent crime are relatively remote.
