It is no secret that Baltimore is a city notorious for its high crime rates and violence. According to the U.S. News Week & World Report, Baltimore ranks fourth in a list of the “most dangerous places in the U.S. in 2025-2026,” sitting just behind Memphis, Oakland, and St. Louis.
In addition to yearly rankings, recent comments made by President Donald Trump labeling Baltimore as a “hellhole” and “so far gone” have launched the city further into the spotlight as a crime ridden and deadly area.
But, new data released by the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) supports evidence to the contrary.
In the 2025 Mid-Year Crime Report, the BPD announced astonishing statistics regarding the historic plummet of Baltimore’s violent crime rates. Since January 1, 2025, the city has experienced a 22% decrease in homicides, with 68 recorded homicides in 2025 and 88 recorded homicides in the first six months of 2024, and a 19% decline in nonfatal shootings. Additionally, crime rates across other categories such as robberies, burglaries, auto thefts, arson and carjackings have also decreased.
Perhaps the most impressive accomplishment lies in Baltimore’s declining homicide rate. The number of murders committed in Baltimore in the first six months of the year is officially the lowest recorded in over 50 years. To put that into perspective, the last time fewer people were killed in the city of Baltimore was during the conclusion of the Vietnam War.
Baltimore’s extraordinary decrease in homicides and nonfatal shootings have been largely attributed to policing efforts by the community. Over the past six months, interventions by individual civilians and programs such as “Safe Streets Baltimore” have resulted in a community centered around reducing gun violence through tactics of trust, conflict mediation and relationship-building.
Safe Streets Baltimore, introduced in 2007, is a public health program aimed at interrupting gun violence in the city. The program utilizes outreach professionals trained in conflict mediation to stop altercations before they turn violent. Workers for Safe Streets are heavily involved in the community and focus carefully on building positive relationships with individuals deemed as high-risk to make violent decisions.
Safe Streets is one of many initiatives launched by the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) to address the root causes of violence in the city. MONSE also includes a comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan crafted by Baltimoreans themselves, as well as a Public Safety Accountability Dashboard, Violence Prevention Task Force, and Group Violence Reduction Strategy targeting three goals: reduce homicides and shootings, improve the life outcomes for individuals at the highest risk, and build trust between the police and the community. By taking proactive and preventative measures such as community outreach and public education, MONSE is treating violent crime in Baltimore as a public health issue, rather than a strictly criminal justice concern.
In response to the effectiveness of MONSE and Baltimore’s recent progress in curbing violent crimes, Mayor Brandon M. Scott noted, “Our continued progress is the direct result of the comprehensive, evidence-based public safety strategy that we have implemented in partnership with residents.”
Despite undeniable growth in reducing violence, the Mayor also added, “But our work is far from over. 68 lives lost to violence is 68 too many. While we acknowledge the historic lows we are experiencing, we must simultaneously acknowledge that there is much more work to do and our success makes me commit even further to doing it.”
Although the issue of violent crime in Baltimore is far from solved, the city’s community and leaders are making great strides towards creating a safer environment for all to enjoy.
Cheyenne Payne is a junior political science and global studies major, with a world politics minor, and the content-managing editor for The Retriever.
Contact Cheyenne at cpayne3@umbc.edu.
