BALTIMORE, MD (Monday, August 3, 2026) - Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced that as of August 3, 2026, shootings and homicides in Baltimore City have continued to decline following historic reductions in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Through this morning, the City has seen 60 homicides and 187 non-fatal shootings compared to last year, which saw 81 homicides and 190 non-fatal shootings, a 25.9% decrease in homicides and a slight decrease in non-fatal shootings. The 7 homicides Baltimore saw last month represent the fewest total for the month of July on record and only the second time there has been a single-digit homicide count in July. The only previous single-digit total was 9 homicides in July 2001.
"Baltimoreans know that July has historically been the most dangerous month of the year- which makes this progress all the more significant," said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "We would not be here without the dedicated work of BPD and our law enforcement partners, MONSE, prosecutors, our community violence intervention ecosystem, and most importantly, our residents. In the months and years to come, we will continue to double down on the partnerships that are saving lives in our communities, because any one life lost to violence in our city is one too many."
Additionally, as of August 1, 2026, Baltimore Police Department officers have seized over 1,189 firearms already this year, including 123 ghost guns, and made 743 gun arrests. Year-to-date, BPD's homicide clearance rate is approximately 60%.
Crime continues to drop across other major categories. As of August 1, 2026, carjackings are down 42%, burglaries are down 16%, and total robberies are down 12% compared to the same time period last year.
Baltimore's Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS), a key partnership between the Baltimore Police Department (BPD), the Mayor's Office and prosecutors, which focuses on violent social networks responsible for driving the majority of the violence in Baltimore, has seen success balancing services and accountability where appropriate. Together, they work to reach those at the very highest risk of being involved in violence to put down the guns and change their behaviors. As of July 29, 2026, GVRS has led to over 670 arrests, including 595 by BPD's Group Violence Unit (GVU), and connected over 406 individuals to life coaching and wraparound services through YAP, Inc., and Roca since it was first launched in BPD's Western District in 2022. Approximately 90.9% of GVRS participants have not been revictimized after being enrolled in services.
Safe Streets Baltimore, the City's flagship community violence intervention program, has seen five of its ten sites, Park Heights, Woodbourne-McCabe, Sandtown, Penn North, and McElderry Park reach a milestone of over 365 days without a homicide within their respective catchment zones so far this year. As of August 1, 2026, Safe Streets frontline intervention staff have successfully mediated over 824 potentially violent conflicts and connected 263 residents at-risk of being involved in violence with support services so far this year.
Baltimore's historic progress this year comes as a growing body of academic research assesses the city's dramatic reduction in violent crime. In June, the University of Pennsylvania's Crime and Justice Policy Lab released a new National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) paper that found Baltimore's Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS) played a key role in Baltimore's historic reductions in homicides. In May, research from the Johns Hopkins University's Center for Gun Violence Solutions found Baltimore's Safe Streets program was associated with a sharp reduction in youth homicides.
Mayor Brandon M. Scott and MONSE are continuing to the public in the process to develop the City's second Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan (CVPP), which will be a new five-year roadmap to build on the historic progress of the last five years and deepen the City's commitment to a holistic, community- and trauma-centered public safety approach from 2026-2031 (Fiscal Year '27-Fiscal Year '31). This next plan will be finalized and officially released by early Fall of 2026. Residents are encouraged to attend upcoming listening sessions and share feedback on the plan through the public survey or directly via email to monse@baltimorecity.gov. Session dates and locations will continue to be announced in the coming weeks on a rolling basis.