WBAL: Baltimore to expand Group Violence Reduction Strategy in 2023

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and community leaders on Monday announced the expansion of the Group Violence Reduction Strategy.

Starting in 2023, the strategy will go beyond the western police district. It will be citywide by mid-2024.

The strategy "engages directly with those most intimately involved in and affected by violence, leveraging an intentional collaboration between law enforcement, social services, and community members who collectively co-sign and deliver an anti-violence message to stop the shooting," according to the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.

"From the beginning, we have been focused on strategically scaling up our GVRS efforts so that we can produce sustained results in the areas of our city that have historically had the highest rates of violent crimes," Scott said. "Thanks to the tremendous impact that we have seen in the Western, we stand confident that we will see similar effects in the Southwest, and eventually across the City."

According to the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, year over year, there was a 31% decrease in non-fatal shootings in the western district along with a 36% decrease in homicides, equaling almost a 34% reduction in gun violence.

The program is funded partly through federal grants and philanthropic donations from city partners.

WBAL-TV 11 contributed to this report.

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