Baltimore Sees Historic Drop In Homicides
Baltimore Sees Historic Drop In Homicides, But Federal Cuts Threaten Progress
Baltimore ended April with just five homicides, the lowest monthly total in over a decade, as federal funding cuts threaten the city’s violence prevention efforts.
According to a Baltimore Banner analysis of public crime data from Open Baltimore, April marked the fewest homicides in any month since at least 2012. Mayor Brandon Scott claimed it was the lowest monthly figure in the city’s recorded history.
This milestone continues a downward trend that began in 2023, reversing the surge in violence that followed the COVID-19 lockdowns. In 2024, Baltimore saw a more than 20 percent year-over-year drop in homicides, the sharpest decline since the 1970s. The decrease in early 2025 has been even more dramatic, breaking decades-long patterns of violence concentrated in the city’s most underserved neighborhoods.
Traditionally, most homicides occurred in majority-Black areas east and west of downtown, known collectively as the “Black Butterfly” because of their shape on the map. But that pattern has shifted in 2025.
“This shift shows that violence prevention efforts are working where they’re needed most,” said Daniel Webster, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He credited Baltimore’s strategy of combining policing with community intervention in areas facing concentrated racial and economic disadvantage.
City officials and experts attribute the progress to several factors, including state and federal crackdowns on ghost guns, political stability at City Hall, and Mayor Scott’s emphasis on combining law enforcement with support services.
Despite this success, looming cuts to federal public safety grants have sparked concern. Last week, Scott urged the Biden administration to reverse what he called reckless reductions in funding from the U.S. Department of Justice. Much of Baltimore’s progress has been fueled by federal investment in grassroots gun violence prevention programs under President Joe Biden.
The decline in killings began to accelerate in late 2023. For many years, Baltimore recorded more than 20 homicides each month, including a peak of 45 in July 2015 following the death of Freddie Gray. Since the beginning of 2023, the city has had only one month with 20 or more homicides.
Scott credited the April drop to the city’s comprehensive violence reduction plan, which includes police, prosecutors, community organizations, and everyday residents.
“This is progress,” Scott said. “But five homicides in April is still five too many. We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to prevent violence and save lives.”
As of April 30, Baltimore had recorded 39 homicides in 2025, down more than 30 percent from the same time last year. However, tracking exact figures is difficult due to potential reclassifications and inconsistencies in crime data.
While the city has not yet lost federal dollars, Scott emphasized that the support extends beyond grant money. “These resources are deeply embedded in how we address public safety,” he said.
Kurt Palmero, executive vice president of Roca Maryland, a nonprofit focused on violence intervention and behavioral health, called Baltimore’s progress remarkable and a testament to cooperation.
“We’ve helped save hundreds of lives,” Palmero said. “But there’s still so much more to do. Community violence prevention works—it changes lives, reduces recidivism, and saves millions in avoided incarceration costs. It’s a smart investment that must continue.”
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