The city also is seeing reductions in many property crime categories through June 24, compared with the same period last year. Overall, property crime is on pace to be down 8% through June 30 compared with the same period last year. That includes crimes such as burglary, larceny, and larceny from autos.

Auto thefts, a skyrocketing crime in Baltimore and nationwide in recent years, are lower than in the first six months of 2023, but remain high compared with the rest of the last decade — 3,213 through June 24, or about 18 per day, compared with lows during the pandemic around 1,500, or about nine per day, during the same period.

Conway said neighborhoods that don’t struggle with poverty or drug use and addiction are likely not the ones bearing the brunt of violent crime in Baltimore. Instead, those neighborhoods might be seeing car break-ins or home invasions. The councilman said he’s heard “significant” complaints about those types of crimes, despite seeing homicides drop at historic rates.

“I hope when folks are talking about the significant progress that we’ve had, that we don’t lose sight of either-or: the huge win in the reduction in homicides, nor the amount of work that we need to do to make sure we’re addressing quality of life crimes,” he said.

Conway looks forward to a day when Baltimore’s homicide rate isn’t front-page news, when it’s no surprise that the city has fewer than 200 homicides, or fewer than 100. There’s so much positive news in Baltimore, he said, pointing to the AFRAM Festival in June, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament and the recent Harbor Splash event where people — Conway included — swam in the Inner Harbor.

“I jumped in, dunked my entire head and did the backstroke,” Conway said. “The whole shebang.”

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