Maryland leaders are continuing to take an aggressive approach to solving and curtailing crimes in Baltimore after the city significantly reduced homicides and most violent crime in 2024.

During a press conference and review of crime in 2024 ahead of the annual vigil to honor homicide victims, officials focused on juvenile crime and how they are creating new strategies for intervention and rehabilitation of some of the most vulnerable in Baltimore.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said it is a major point of emphasis to lower crime.

“We paired community violence intervention alongside proactive and constitutional policing, pursuing public safety the right way,” Scott said.

Scott and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore say more work must be done to combat crime in Baltimore in 2025.

Moore said juvenile crime will be addressed during the new legislative session, which starts Wednesday. The state’s proposed budget includes millions of dollars in funding for juvenile services, rehabilitation and intervention.

“We have to make sure that we have real accountability for those who break the law, and we have to make sure that we have support for the people who break the law, that if they have an opportunity to have a second chance of life, those second chances must be available,” Moore said.

Reduction of major crimes

Baltimore City had a 23% reduction in homicides in 2024, following a nearly 20% drop in 2023. The Police Department said nonfatal shootings were down 44% and the city saw a 74% reduction in youth gun violence victims.

The department said most major crime categories are down going into 2025, including carjackings, assaults and robberies.

Baltimore’s end-of-year crime report also states that in 2024, Baltimore police achieved clearance rates above the national average for major crimes, including homicides (68%), nonfatal shootings (44%), robberies (37%), and aggravated assaults (69%).

Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley says this work is happening with fewer officers on the streets and in the midst of significant police reform.

Worley told WJZ he attributes this extreme decrease to the Group Violence Reduction Strategy, which has been deployed in four of the nine police districts. This strategy partners police, the mayor’s office, and the State’s Attorney’s Office to investigate and solve crimes while providing resources for “would-be trigger-pullers” to get them out of crime.

“Creating a safer Baltimore remains our top priority,” Worley said, crediting the department’s “intentional and relentless efforts to reduce crime.”

Scott said one murder victim is too many, and that the city is using the decline in homicides as a benchmark, not a celebration.

“We have to acknowledge that we didn’t just do that,” Scott said. “We far exceeded that now, two years in a row, and we can acknowledge that we can do even better. You don’t hear any of us celebrating.”