For every action…well, you know the rest. For more than a month, Baltimore residents made it abundantly clear how they felt about the city’s police department. Awash in anger over the controversial death of Freddie Gray, black citizens took to the streets in protest and demanded justice. District Attorney Marilyn Mosby gave the mob what they wanted, filing criminal charges against the officers deemed responsible for Gray’s death. All was once again peaceful in Baltimore.

Or was it?

The protests, rioting, and looting may have abated, but black Baltimore residents are being murdered at an alarming rate. In 30 days, more than 30 people have been killed, giving the city one of the worst murder rates in the country.

“In any other community, these numbers would be jaw-dropping,” Reverend Jamal Bryant told the Washington Post.

Even in a community as eaten up with violence as Baltimore, the uptick in homicide is cause for alarm. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has cautioned against concluding that Baltimore officers are shirking their duties, but that’s exactly what many believe is happening. After all of the protests and accusations and assaults, some are concerned that local officers are reluctant to patrol with the same vigilance. One anonymous officer told CBS Baltimore that the Gray case was having a significant impact on how police carried out their duties.

“If you want them to be proactive in patrolling and trying to catch people,” he said, “I could see them not being interested in doing that.”

As of last Friday, 91 people had been murdered in the city thus far in 2015 – 21 more than last year at this time.

In some ways, the situation echoes what happened in New York City earlier this year after Mayor Bill de Blasio threw the city’s officers under the bus. Arrests plummeted after de Blasio made inflammatory comments about department racism, leading many to think there was an unofficial strike in progress. Liberals excoriated the NYPD for the rumored work stoppage, but actions have consequences. And when you create a hostile environment for the men and women risking their lives to protect the community, you shouldn’t be surprised when they throw up their hands and say, “Fine, if that’s the way you want it…”

As the Obama administration tries to exert federal control over local and state law enforcement departments, don’t be surprised to see crime rates skyrocket across the country. Obama and his liberal cabal want to see fewer black men behind bars, and they will stop at nothing to make sure that goal is realized. What’s sad is that by vilifying the police and letting criminals take the streets, black communities will be worse off than ever before.

And as long as they keep blaming a racist system and voting for libs who tell them what they want to hear, nothing will ever change.