Major City’s Democrats Finally Abandoned Criminal Justice Reform — Now They Boast A Decades-Low Homicide Rate

Democratic Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott wrote in a Monday X post that his city would end 2025 “with the lowest number of homicides in DECADES.”

Scott’s post was in response to a Monday analysis by The Baltimore Banner that found “killings could reach a 48-year low” of fewer than 150 murders in the city. The analysis followed Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates cracking down on crime since taking office in 2023.

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The plunge in murders started in 2022 and 2025 will be just the fifth year since 1970 with fewer than 200, according to the Banner. It will also mark the first instance that Baltimore has achieved this milestone in consecutive years.

Bates has pushed for a shift to prioritizing so-called “quality-of-life” crimes, creating a citation docket for offenses like thefts under $1,500, according to local Baltimore outlet FOX45 News.

Bates, unlike his predecessor Marilyn Mosby, pledged to impose mandatory minimums for felons possessing illegal firearms, according to FOX45. Mosby’s office declined to charge low-level offenses like drug possession.

“While some have criticized our office for moving beyond the policies of the previous administration, the progress we’ve made in reducing homicides in Baltimore tells a different story—one grounded in results, not rhetoric,” Bates wrote in a July 1 Facebook post. “By repealing ineffective non-prosecution policies, we’ve empowered our police officers to re-engage fully in the mission of public safety—not only as law enforcers, but as violence interrupters working proactively in our communities.

Baltimore also recorded 68 homicides in the first six months of 2025, the fewest for the first six months of a year in 50 years, according to a July 1 press release from Scott’s office.

Moreover, Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore sent additional law enforcement to Baltimore as President Donald Trump floated deploying the National Guard to the city, according to FOX45. The increase coincided with a 25% decline in violent crime in the areas targeted, such as murder, rape and aggravated assault, according to data Moore’s office shared with the outlet.

Trump campaigned on combating violent crime and has made it a top priority of his second term, sending the National Guard into cities like Washington, D.C., and Memphis. He also signed a July 24 executive order targeting crime and public disorder by authorizing federal support and resources to assist local law enforcement in fighting violent crime.

The Trump administration’s 2025 initiatives have coincided with a record-setting one-year drop in murders in the U.S., according to a Dec. 22 analysis by crime data expert Jeff Asher, who cited the Real-Time Crime Index.

“Our continued progress is the direct result of the comprehensive, evidence-based public safety strategy that we have implemented in partnership with residents,” Scott said, according to the release.