I think the issue is culture more so than race.
One culture in the U.S. not only tolerates a high level of criminality, a substantial subset of it even venerates it. For things to change, this must end.
The problem is the thug culture that has taken over large swaths of urban neighborhoods. And any time someone such as Bill Cosby or Juan Williams tries to speak up against it, they are shouted down by the same nitwits who engage in these kind of liberal hand-wringing exercises.
So the problem is race in that even those from that race cannot give an honest assessment of the problems inherent in the subculture of a large swath of their own race without fear of retribution. And things won't get better as long as that is the case.