The two high-profile issues Brandon Scott faced when he took office at the end of 2020 were violent crime (shootings and murders) and squeegee guys. While there were other issues, many related to getting Baltimore, especially downtown businesses, out of the pandemic, the ones that made the most noise were crime and squeezy hysteria.
Four years later, Scott is seeking a second term at City Hall and has made undeniable progress on both fronts.
He called for community cooperation on the squeegee issue. Too many children at busy intersections, some intimidating commuters, and squeegee workers scaring away visitors as businesses try to recover from the pandemic A whirlpool of anger and dissatisfaction is brewing.
Where are we now?
Some of the squishy guys are still around. In the spring, the number of 911 calls related to them increases rapidly. But the hysteria subsided with the volume of complaints. Weekly reports from the mayor's office show close tracking of squeegee workers and the city's continued efforts to get them off the streets and into jobs. The Scott administration deserves credit for comprehensively addressing issues that critics have cited as evidence of local government dysfunction.
When it comes to crime, here are the numbers for the most closely watched categories: homicides and non-fatal shootings.
Marilyn Mosby was sworn in as Baltimore state attorney and the death toll rose to more than 300 per year, ending a harrowing eight-year period beginning in 2015, when Freddie Gray's death in police custody sparked riots and calls for police reform. The situation continued.
Last year, that number finally decreased.
In mid-2023, there were 25 fewer homicides than at the same point in 2022. This trend continued over his next six months, with Baltimore's murder count ending 2023 with 262 murders, 72 fewer than the previous year. There were still too many non-fatal shootings, 640 of them, but 47 fewer than the 2022 total.
So far this year, the downward trend in violence continues. As of Wednesday, Baltimore police reported 52 homicides, 20 fewer than at this time in 2023. The number of shooting incidents has also decreased by 27.
Scott deserves the most credit for this. Baltimore residents have historically attributed the credit (responsibility) for declining (or increasing) crime to the incumbent mayor and his chosen police chief.
But while Scott is focused on building what he calls an anti-violence ecosystem that includes intervening in the lives of those most likely to shoot or be shot, , the effort includes Roca, Safe Streets, the U.S. Attorney's Office and federal law enforcement agencies, the Maryland Attorney General's staff, and the State Attorney's Office.
Regarding the latter, I pointed out late last year that the district attorney, under the direction of Ivan Bates, had secured 125 guilty verdicts or pleas in murder cases in his first 11 months as state's attorney. They ended the year with 136 convictions. This number significantly exceeds the total of 93 guilty verdicts or pleas in 2022, Mosby's final year in office.
“In Baltimore, [125] There are many people who have 30 years to live,” Bates said in an interview in November. “Those are people who committed some form of violence against someone and are now taken off the streets.”
Therefore, Mr. Bates also deserves some credit for the downward trend in violence. The people of Baltimore who voted for him should rejoice. Fewer people are shot and killed within city limits.
Still, Bates seems to think the mayor needs to be replaced amid these positive trends.
He has endorsed one of Scott's opponents, Sheila Dixon, in next month's Democratic primary.
Politically speaking, he's just giving back. Dixon endorsed Bates for state attorney in 2022.
But instead of leaving it as a personal obligation, he attacks Scott and says that even though he and the mayor seem to be gaining great ground in the fight against crime, He suggested that he was not much of a “partner” in the fight. That battle.
Some thoughts on this: Prosecutors should avoid supporting political candidates. It doesn't look good. Potential conflicts may arise. This seems particularly strange in this case. The city's chief prosecutor endorsed a candidate for mayor who shamefully resigned from the same position in 2010.
Additionally, there is continuity. Barring corruption or breathtaking incompetence, the Baltimore mayor who took on Maryland's toughest job will accomplish big goals like reducing crime, lowering property taxes, or attracting more businesses and residents. In order to do so, it is necessary to win at least two terms. If Mr. Dixon succeeds in his fourth run for mayor, it will be the seventh time in the past 18 years that he has run for mayor in Baltimore, a record no city would envy.
Please forgive my cautiousness about the mayor and the city's chief prosecutor being “partners.” Sure, we want the police, under the strong influence of the mayor, to work closely with prosecutors to remove criminals from the city, but that seems to be what's happening, but what? Is that the problem? Mr. Bates and Mr. Scott do not need to form a “partnership.” They have separate responsibilities and answer to voters separately.
And that's no surprise. Someday, the Baltimore State Attorney may have reason to investigate the mayor of Baltimore. I mean, it's not like it never happened.
