Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott wants to build on 2023’s momentum in violence reductions, saying efforts are ‘finally’ paying off

After a 20% drop in Baltimore homicides last year, Mayor Brandon Scott said Wednesday that his administration would carry 2023’s momentum forward and work on “sustained, long-term” reductions in violent crime. Flanked by more than a dozen city officials and community group leaders, Scott said last year’s decline in homicides and slight decline in nonfatal shootings is not cause for celebration, even if it is “meaningful progress.”