The Late Obama Age Collapse continues, but may be slowing. The Major Cities Chiefs Association released homicide totals for the first half of 2017 for 62 sizable police departments across the country.

The aggregate number of homicides in the first half of 2017 was 3,081, up almost 3% from 2,994 in the first half of 2016 for the same set of 62 departments.

The growth in the homicide rate during the second quarter of 2017 was down to below 1% year to date. (However, that declining growth rate in Q2 may be overly optimistic since the Q2-2016 denominator included 49 homicides in an Islamist terrorism attack upon a gay nightclub in Orlando.)

In contrast, the homicide total in the first half of 2016 was up 15% over the first half of 2015. Likewise, the Majors Chiefs had reported that homicides for the full year 2015 were up 16% versus the full year of 2014.

Evidence points to the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement, backed vociferously by the Obama Administration and the media, during the much-publicized Ferguson uproar of August 2014 as the point at which America’s homicide rate, which had been in long term decline, suddenly started rising again.

It would appear that the thousands of incremental homicides that have happened since Ferguson three years ago have been overwhelmingly black-on-black.

The new report covers many but not all big cities. For example, New York City is not included (the most recent NYC figures I could find from May showed homicides down 15% from 2016).

Baltimore is now second out of all 62 departments reported in the U.S. with 170 dead bodies, up from 137 in the first half of 2016. Baltimore’s homicide rate has been extremely high ever since the Freddie Gray BLM riot in March 2015.

Chicago remains in first place in absolute numbers, with homicides increasing from 324 to 328.

Charlotte, the scene of BLM rioting in the latter half of 2016, saw its number of homicides increase from 22 in the first half of 2016 to 47 in the first half of 2017. Milwaukee, site of a couple of BLM riots in 2016 has stayed stable at 55 in each year.

New Orleans is a mess, with homicides growing from 68 to 96. Philadelphia is up from 122 to 156.

Black Lives Matter, indeed …

Fortunately, toppling evil rays-emitting statues will no doubt fix the Late Obama Age Collapse.