As the president signed the order at the White House Rose Garden surrounded by law enforcement officers, he pointed out that a majority of homicides last year in Baltimore City went unsolved. 

"In many cases, local law enforcement is underfunded understaffed, and under support," the president said. "Forty-seven percent of all murders in Chicago and 68% of all murders in Baltimore went without arrests last year."

Current homicides trends in Baltimore City (data pulled from The Baltimore Sun) suggest 300 deaths could be seen for the fifth year in a row. With the city's collapsing population, now around the 600k - on a per capita basis, the area is considered one of the most dangerous cities in the nation.