a day ago
Baltimore is seeing the city's fewest homicides in 50 years. Here's why.
In 2021, shortly after starting his first term, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott (D) rolled out a comprehensive plan to reduce gun violence in a city that had long been troubled by one of the deadliest homicide rates in the nation.
The strategy was to approach gun violence as a public health threat instead of simply a crime issue and to treat that threat at the source by investing in violence interrupters, community organizations and trauma-informed support systems in impacted neighborhoods. The plan's goal: reduce shootings by 15 percent every year for five years.
Now four years in, Scott said, the plan is working.
As of July 1, 68 people in Baltimore had died by homicide this year, the fewest during the first six months of the year in more than five decades. It marks a nearly 23 percent decrease compared to the first half of 2024. Shootings where nobody was killed have also fallen by nearly 20 percent compared to the same time period last year. The falling statistics, mirroring a national drop in violent crime, follow years of similar declines.
'Everybody plays a part,' Scott said in an interview. 'Yes, I'm the mayor. Yes, I had to come up with and deliver this plan. But none of it works without every single one of our partners.'
Among them, the mayor said, are the 40 or so employees of the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement; the dozens of people who work as violence interrupters with the city's flagship gun violence reduction program, Safe Streets; the Baltimore Police Department; the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office; the U.S. attorney's office and the Office of the Maryland Attorney General.
'But most importantly,' Scott said, 'the folks in the community.'
After a spike during the pandemic, homicides by guns in the United States have steadily dwindled, to 17,927 in 2023, according to the most recent Center For Disease Control data available. In D.C., there have been 85 homicides this year as of July 3, compared to 89 during the same time last year, according to police department data.
The historically low violent crime rate in Baltimore has prompted a scramble to take credit among state and city leaders, all of whom are acknowledging each other's roles while emphasizing their own parts.
The office of Gov. Wes Moore (D) pointed to the $50 million in state funding to the Baltimore Police Department and additional $10.8 million to the city's state's attorney's office since he took office in 2023. Under the Moore administration, state leaders and lawmakers have also focused on changes to the juvenile justice system, measures for stricter gun regulations, and coordination about experts, advocates and officials on commissions centered on best practices for crime-fighting and restorative justice.
In a statement, Moore praised the 'all-of-the-above approach to public safety that is showing results across the state.'
'While there is still work to be done,' Moore said, 'it is clear that this close collaboration with all partners involved is helping Maryland boast some of the most impressive crime drops in the entire country.'
Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan Bates (D) credited the shifting philosophy of the office since he defeated former state's attorney Marilyn Mosby (D) in the 2022 election.
'While some have criticized our office for moving beyond the policies of the previous administration, the progress we've made in reducing homicides in Baltimore tells a different story — one grounded in results, not rhetoric,' Bates said in a statement. 'By repealing ineffective non-prosecution policies, we've empowered our police officers to reengage fully in the mission of public safety — not only as law enforcers, but as violence interrupters working proactively in our communities.'
In an op-ed she penned in the Baltimore Sun, the state's chief public defender, Natasha Dartigue, said the 'intense debate' sparked over who can claim credit for the fall in violent crime misses the point. Some, she said, 'were quick to claim credit for the drop by relying on a well-worn 'tough-on-crime' narrative despite research and data that demonstrate the negative impact of incarceration and an overly punitive approach to public safety.'
'Our daily experiences as public defenders underscore the correct answer to the question of what is causing the decline in crime,' Dartigue wrote. 'After years of investing in violence interrupters, community outreach workers and neighborhood-based prevention initiatives, Baltimore is witnessing the fruits of this focused approach.'
She credited community organizations like the Baltimore Community Mediation Center, We Our Us and Roca, which works with those age 16 to 24.
'The people behind these programs are the true heroes of Baltimore's crime reduction story,' Dartigue wrote.
Scott likewise praised those organizations — as well as what he characterized as a more targeted approach to policing at the local, state and federal level, focusing on violent gun offenders and group violence. The strategy, he said, was informed by data work that showed the people most likely to victimize or be victimized through gun violence was contained to a narrow group.
The strategy isn't about volume, he said.
'We are not going back to the days of arresting any and every Black person who is just outside,' Scott said.
Partnerships with the U.S. attorney's office and federal law enforcement have been a critical element of this new tactic, pulling in federal resources on major criminal investigations that have brought down violent groups. Federal funding for violence prevention programs is now under threat as part of the Trump administration's budget cuts.
For now, those partnerships have continued, Scott said, adding that he hopes politics don't 'interfere with public safety.'
The numbers, he said, show what's working.
Homicides and nonfatal shootings dipped slightly from 2021 to 2022, but then fell off precipitously after that. In 2023, homicides fell nearly 24 percent compared to 2023, then fell another 23 percent in 2024, according to city data. In 2021, there were 726 nonfatal shootings in the city. In 2024, there were 412.
Beyond those trends, carjackings are down 15 percent so far this year, robberies are down 22 percent, and auto thefts are down 34 percent.
Scott, who recalled that 'people laughed at me' when he first advocated for a community-based approach, doesn't see it as unusual.
'For us,' he said, 'it's not optional.'
