(NewsNation) — Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, who recently made history as the city’s first mayor to win re-election in two decades, is highlighting significant progress in reducing violent crime through a comprehensive approach to public safety.
One Baltimore neighborhood, Brooklyn, has marked more than 400 days without a homicide — a dramatic turnaround for an area that experienced a block party shooting in July 2023 that left two dead and nearly 30 injured, mostly teenagers and young adults.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, the city’s flagship anti-violence program Safe Streets ramped up its work in the area. “The minute that incident happened, the entirety of city government has been on the ground there,” Scott said Sunday on “NewsNation Prime.”
Scott’s strategy includes a distinctive approach to violence prevention: sending personalized letters to individuals identified as at risk of becoming either victims or perpetrators of gun violence. The letters offer support for life changes while warning of consequences for continued criminal activity.
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“We want them to be alive. We will help them change their life, but if they don’t, we will extract them with law enforcement,” Scott said.
The neighborhood has seen an 86% reduction in homicides and a 76% decrease in non-fatal shootings. These improvements are part of a broader trend, with Baltimore recording a 20% reduction in homicides last year and an additional 24% drop this year, alongside a 34% decrease in non-fatal shootings.
The mayor emphasizes a collaborative approach involving multiple city agencies, from violence interrupters to recreation and parks staff. The program includes job training and education support, citing recent success stories including a participant who obtained their GED and found employment.
Safe Streets focuses on de-escalating conflicts by employing mediators with credibility and knowledge of the streets.
“There are instances where we have to help people get help … but we cannot just have people out here doing whatever they want consistently over and over again,” Scott told NewsNation.
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The program has 10 offices based in some of the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods. It was launched in 2007 and expanded in recent years under Scott’s administration, which has often pledged to treat violence as a public health crisis and address its root causes.
A community survey conducted in the weeks after the Brooklyn mass shooting showed that many neighborhood residents placed more trust in Safe Streets than Baltimore police, local schools, nonprofits and other institutions, according to city officials. Only neighborhood churches ranked higher.
“We cannot solely put this on the backs of our police. Our community, everyone has to play a part in that,” Scott said.
Even still, having Safe Streets workers present during the block party wasn’t enough to prevent it from ultimately devolving into chaos and bloodshed.
Scott also addressed the city’s ongoing struggle with the opioid crisis, noting a recent settlement with pharmaceutical companies that will bring approximately $500 million to Baltimore for addiction response efforts. The city currently averages more than two overdose deaths per day, according to health department statistics.
The mayor’s efforts are featured in “The Body Politic,” a documentary chronicling his first year in office, scheduled to air on PBS on Nov. 25 at 10 p.m. Eastern.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.