With 201 homicides in 2024, Baltimore City marked another milestone in the effort to break the grip violent crime has had on the city for years. But what’s driving down the data remains in question.
The city recorded the lowest homicide rate in a decade, and the fewest people killed since 2011. The progress comes on the heels of 261 homicides in 2023, which was the first time the city had dipped below 300 in eight years.
Mayor Brandon Scott has touted the work of his comprehensive crime plan, including programs like the Group Violence Reduction Strategy, or GVRS; the program is a collaborative effort between the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, MONSE, along with the Baltimore Police Department, and the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office. Through GVRS, people involved in a violent lifestyle are offered paths to a different life, but if they refuse, law enforcement gets involved.
However, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said GVRS wasn’t the main reason homicides dropped as much as they did. Rather, Bates pointed to the work in his office as the driving force. When asked if GVRS is the reason for the decline in homicides, Bates simply said: “No.”
“I think unfortunately, the way the criminal justice system really works, we looked at the numbers and I’m looking at the numbers, we realized over a three-year period that GVRS, they’ve served 201 people,” Bates said, meaning 201 people have been provided services. “I can tell you 200 people is not enough to make that substantial change.”
Bates took issue with the fact that GVRS is not operational in every police district. The program started in 2022 as a pilot in the Western Police District. Since then, it has expanded into more districts, and Mayor Scott has plans to implement GVRS citywide in time.
“When I was defense attorney, clients couldn’t care less about an arrest because they’re coming home. When you’re holding individuals accountable and you’re sending them to prison, then that’s really changing the face of public safety,” Bates said.
In the last few months of Bates’ predecessor Marilyn Mosby’s time in office, there were staffing shortages. When Bates assumed the role as Baltimore’s top prosecutor, he said he focused on hiring; there were 141 attorneys in the office when Bates took office, he said, and now, there are 185.
In addition to bolstering the staff, Bates pushed for additional resources to screen body-worn camera footage. The funding for video review came from the state after Bates didn’t successfully get additional resources from Baltimore City.
“I don’t think Gov. Moore understands how I view him as an also major role. I played a major role in this, changing our office, the money he gave us,” Bates explained. “Almost $2 million allowed our office to go ahead and hire individuals to look at the body camera video footage.”
Now, prosecutors don’t have to spend as much time going through the video evidence themselves and can dedicate more time preparing for cases and trials, according to Bates.
Between 2021 and 2022, there were 2,186 felony gun cases; 749 of those were dismissed, 656 were pled down, and 781 cases resulted in jail time, according to data provided by the City State’s Attorney’s Office. the number of cases resulting in jail time was significantly higher between 2023 and 2024; there were 2,443 felony cases, 475 were dismissed, 245 were pled down, and 1,723 cases resulted in jail time.
“The data says you need to go and take the small group of people, put them in jail from three to five years. There’s a difference between mass incarceration of 20 to 30 to 40 to 50 years, the life sentence,” Bates said. “What we’re saying is you’re a repeat violent offender, we’re sitting individuals down for a short period of time in the overall span of their life, but we’re doing it with the message to say, change your activities or else next time, we’re going to send you across the street to the feds.”
While Bates said he doesn’t believe GVRS is the reason Baltimore’s homicide numbers dipped, he said there is a significant role for the program and the Mayor’s Office.
“We need to focus on what is our plan with these individuals coming back home to make sure that they’re set up for success because you talk about the holistic approach, we have these individuals’ attention,” he said. “Let’s make sure we give them all the services that they need to be a success.”
Long-term success and sustainable declines will come with continued partnership with local, state, and federal agencies, Bates said. Often working the U.S. Attorney Erek Barron, Bates said his commitment to teaming up with federal law enforcement has helped ensure people in Baltimore understand the severity of their actions.
“It’s just having stronger partnerships, everybody working together and let’s leave all the egos at the door,” he said. “This is a team win for everybody, whether you’re the Mayor with GVRS, whether you’re the prosecutors in the State’s Attorney’s Office, whether you are the person who’s with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, or with the police department.”
While more people are going to jail and prisons, Bates said his goal is never to further mass incarceration, but rather break the cycle for people committing crimes and send the message that the activity will not be tolerated.
“I don’t like sending people to jail. However, I really hate it — it breaks my heart when I have to talk to a mother or a father who’s lost their child,” Bates said. “I would much rather stop that process and that’s why we’re doing what we’re doing in the state’s attorney’s office. We’re going to continue to do our job.”
Have a tip? Contact reporter Mikenzie Frost at mbfrost@sbgtv.com.