Baltimore launches community input on new violence prevention plan

City officials opened public input on Baltimore’s next five-year violence prevention plan with a listening session Wednesday at the Carolyn E. Fugett Intergenerational Center in West Baltimore, where residents and community leaders pressed for more re-entry services and stronger neighborhood quality of life. The effort comes after Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced the engagement process on June 22 for the city’s second Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan, a roadmap that will guide Baltimore’s violence-reduction strategy through 2031.

The new plan is scheduled to take effect July 1 and is expected to be finalized and officially released in early fall 2026. Baltimore is using in-person meetings, virtual listening sessions and an online survey to collect feedback before the plan is locked in.

At Wednesday’s first session, held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 800 Poplar Grove Street, re-entry and neighborhood stability were at the center of the conversation. Residents challenged officials on how the new plan will support people coming home from incarceration and whether violence prevention will also mean cleaner blocks, safer streets and more livable neighborhoods.

The work runs through the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, or MONSE, which Scott created in December 2020 to replace the former Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. MONSE works with residents, community organizations, government, police and local businesses to reduce violence through a public health approach rather than relying only on enforcement.

The current plan builds on Baltimore’s first Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan, which Scott released on June 25, 2021 after work with city and state agencies, community groups and residents. A 2024 biennial update added a youth justice pillar.