Mayor Brandon M. Scott Announces Continued Historic Crime Reductions In 2026

BALTIMORE, MD (Wednesday, July 1, 2026) - Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced that Baltimore has continued to see historic reductions in violent crime for the first half of 2026. This year there have been 50 homicides. This total represents the fewest homicides ever recorded in Baltimore through the first six months of a calendar year. Compared to this date last year, Baltimore has seen a 23.1% decrease in homicides and a 2.5% decrease in non-fatal shootings.

"We are making progress on public safety that many thought was impossible," said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "By working with BPD, MONSE, prosecutors, our community violence intervention ecosystem, and most importantly, our residents, we have invested in strategies that are getting at every aspect of violence in our communities. We know that our work is not done; one life lost to violence in our city is one too many. But after decades of losing hundreds of friends, family members, and loved ones to gun violence every year, we are finally seeing sustained reductions in shootings and homicides and building the safer, healthier neighborhoods our residents deserve."

Not only have homicides significantly declined compared to last year, homicides have also drastically decreased compared to years prior. From 2019 to 2022, Baltimore had already seen over 150 homicides in the first six months of the year. In 2023 there had been 142 homicides by July 1, 2024 was the first year since 2014 that there had been fewer than 100 homicides in the first six months of the year.

Additionally, as of June 27, 2026, Baltimore Police Department officers have seized over 1001 firearms already this year, including 105 ghost guns, and made 616 gun arrests.

Year-to-date, BPD's homicide clearance rate is 60%, up from 54% compared to this time last year. Crime continues to drop across other major categories. As of June 27, 2026, carjackings are down 43%, burglaries are down 16%, and total robberies are down 13% compared to this time last year.

Residents can learn more about this historic progress by visiting the City's new Public Safety Accountability Dashboard. The dashboard, updated last month, measures Baltimore's progress and gives residents a clear view into neighborhood-level public safety indicators and statistics.

Baltimore's historic progress this year comes as a growing body of academic research attributes the city's dramatic reduction in violent crime. Last month, the University of Pennsylvania's Crime and Justice Policy Lab released a new National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) paper that found Baltimore's Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS) played a key role in Baltimore's historic reductions in homicides. In May, research from the Johns Hopkins University's Center for Gun Violence Solutions found Baltimore's Safe Streets program was associated with a sharp reduction in youth homicides.

Baltimore's Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS), a key partnership between the Baltimore Police Department (BPD), the Mayor's Office and prosecutors, which focuses on violent social networks responsible for driving the majority of the violence in Baltimore, has seen success balancing services and accountability where appropriate. Together, they work to reach those at the very highest risk of being involved in violence to put down the guns and change their behaviors. As of June 22, 2026, GVRS has led to over 655 arrests, including 580 by BPD's Group Violence Unit (GVU), and connected over 391 individuals to life coaching and wraparound services through YAP, Inc., and Roca since it was first launched in BPD's Western District in 2022. Approximately 94.9% of GVRS participants have not been revictimized after being enrolled in services.

Safe Streets Baltimore, the City's flagship community violence intervention program, has seen four of its ten sites, Park Heights, Woodbourne-McCabe, Sandtown, and Penn North, reach a milestone of over 365 days without a homicide within their respective catchment zones so far this year. As of June 27, 2026, Safe Streets frontline intervention staff have successfully mediated over 688 potentially violent conflicts and connected 156 residents at-risk of being involved in violence with support services so far this year.