By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates (D) notified Baltimore City Mayor Brandon M. Scott (D) on Dec. 2 that his office is ending its coordination with the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE), citing what he called a “veil of secrecy.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy photo
In the letter, Bates said the office will terminate any further direct coordination with MONSE, including collaborations regarding the Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS), which MONSE heads. According to the Mayor’s Office, the strategy is built upon the partnership of the Mayor’s Office, the Baltimore Police Department and the State’s Attorney’s Office.
The move raises questions about the future of GVRS, which has been widely credited with contributing to recent historic improvements in public safety in Baltimore City. In September, the Mayor’s Office announced that the city had dropped to the lowest number of homicides in 50 years after more than eight consecutive years of hitting 300 homicides annually, from 2015 to 2022.
In the letter, Bates claimed that the Mayor’s Office pushed off his attempts to meet with them on different occasions, including over the summer.
“It is my responsibility to ensure that my office maintains the highest degree of integrity and transparency on behalf of the residents we are sworn to serve,” said Bates. “Unfortunately, recent events and reports have revealed that MONSE does not appear to share the same values, including ensuring that victims of crimes are notified when their cases are diverted and making transparency paramount when dealing with criminal actors.”
He also argued that MONSE operates under a lack of transparency, citing Safe Streets, a public health program that uses ex-offenders to reduce gun violence, as an example.
“The veil of secrecy that surrounds this program is widely known and continues to keep the public, my prosecutors and the city government from truly understanding the exact nature of the work being provided by these ‘violence interrupters,’ the identities of the individuals involved in this work and provides absolutely no oversight with respect to the funding and operational spending associated with this program,” wrote Bates.
Photo Credit: Photo courtesy of the Office of the Mayor Baltimore/J.J.McQueen
Scott addressed Bates’ letter and claims during a live-streamed press conference on Dec. 3.
“I provided a full response via letter to the state’s attorney this morning, asking him first to reconsider and providing him with responses to the concerns that he raised,” said Scott.
He emphasized that collaboration has driven the city’s public safety progress and remains essential to their success.
“It takes all of us working together,” said Scott. “We all have a role to play and trying to cut off engagement with any one of those partners puts the most important thing that this government does at risk.”
Scott insisted that the collaborative work will proceed, despite this news.
“To be clear, the work will continue,” he said. “Today we had our GVRS strategic management team meeting, as they do every other week. It’s unfortunate that the State’s Attorney’s Office was not there, but other partners were.”
He said Bates’ decision will not distract the city from its safety goals.
“While we are in a better position than we’ve ever been with public safety, I will not allow anything to distract us from that work,” said Scott.
As of Dec. 4, there have been 124 homicides and 289 non-fatal shootings year-to-date, compared to 180 homicides and 386 non-fatal shootings in 2024.
Scott said he was surprised by the announcement, believing the relationship between their offices had been improving. Since Bates assumed the office in 2023, there has been notable discord between the two over how to address public safety within the city. The mayor said he still hopes his office and the State’s Attorney’s Office will see a positive shift in their collaboration on improving public safety.