Safe Streets Park Heights Achieves Over 365 Days with No Homicides

Safe Streets Park Heights has gone 387 days and counting with no homicides in the site's boundaries

BALTIMORE, MD (Wednesday, February 4, 2026) - Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott, the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE), and LifeBridge Health Center for Hope announced that the Safe Streets Baltimore Park Heights site has achieved over 365 days without a homicide in the site's catchment zone.

The last homicide within the site's boundaries took place on January 12, 2025 in the 4400 block of Reisterstown Road, marking 387 days and counting without a homicide in the site's boundaries. Since then, the site has conducted over 230 mediations, preventing potentially violent conflicts from escalating into a shooting or homicide.

"When I was growing up in Park Heights, it was unimaginable that this area could go more than a year without a homicide," said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "Now the site has gone over 365 days without a homicide twice since I took office. This is not a coincidence, and neither are the historic reductions in shootings and homicides we are seeing across Baltimore. They are a testament to what is possible when we invest in community members, partners, and frontline violence interrupters all working together to prevent violence in their own communities."

"As we reach this important milestone for the Park Heights community, we're grateful for the lives that have been kept safe, and we remember the victims and families who have experienced violence over the years. Together, we have made meaningful progress to improve public safety in Baltimore, but we know there is still more work ahead. I will keep fighting to both deliver federal public safety resources and invest in opportunities to strengthen Baltimore's communities," said Senator Chris Van Hollen.

"Every Marylander deserves to live in safe communities. I thank Mayor Scott for his leadership and the incredible work of making Park Heights safer. I have always said Marylanders shouldn't just be getting by, they should live beyond their wildest dreams. That starts with having safe communities to live in," said Senator Angela Alsobrooks.

"A full year without a homicide in the Park Heights catchment zone is more than a statistic. It's lives saved, families kept whole, and proof that evidence-based intervention works," said Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen. "We need to replicate this success across every neighborhood in Baltimore."

"Kudos to Safe Streets-Park Heights on reaching this remarkable milestone, celebrating continued success of fostering trust and mutual understanding in underserved communities by teaching effective conflict resolution and empowering individuals through positive change," said Baltimore City Council Vice President Sharon Green Middleton.

There are ten Safe Streets Baltimore sites located across Baltimore in neighborhoods with historically high levels of gun violence. The Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) is responsible for oversight of the Safe Streets Baltimore program and contracts with community-based organizations - Associated Catholic Charities and LifeBridge Health Center for Hope - to serve as site administrators. LifeBridge Health Center for Hope serves as the operator for the Belvedere, Park Heights, Woodbourne-McCabe, Belair-Edison, McElderry Park, and Franklin Square locations. Catholic Charities operates the Brooklyn site as well as the Penn-North, Sandtown-Winchester, and Cherry Hill locations.

"We know that when we put our communities at the forefront, we can prevent and intervene in violence in ways that go beyond just police, prisons, and prosecution," said MONSE Director Stefanie Mavronis. "While Safe Streets is not new to Baltimore, under the Mayor's leadership, MONSE and our partners have been intentional about investing in and uplifting our frontline violence interruption staff because we believe in this work. This is a significant milestone, but it is not the end. We have to continue working together so that we can get another 365, and another 365, until shootings and homicides are no longer normal in our communities."

In 2025, Safe Streets staff mediated 1,752 potentially violent conflicts across all ten sites. As of February 3, 2026, Safe Streets staff have conducted over 123 successful mediations so far this calendar year.

Seven Safe Streets sites have gone over 365 days without a homicide since Mayor Scott took office: Cherry Hill, Belvedere, Brooklyn, Franklin Square, Park Heights, Penn North, and Woodbourne McCabe.

"We are incredibly proud of the work our Safe Streets team does every day to reduce violence, build trust, strengthen relationships and keep the Park Heights community safe," said Adam Rosenberg, Executive Director of Center for Hope and Vice President of Violence Intervention and Prevention at LifeBridge Health. "This marks the second time in just three years that this Safe Streets site has reached a no-homicides milestone, underscoring the sustained impact of this work. Reaching more than 365 days without a homicide is a significant milestone and a powerful reminder that violence prevention saves lives. Reducing violence means more opportunity, better health, and a stronger community overall. Congratulations to the entire team, and all of our community partners who helped us reach this milestone."

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health published a report in April of 2023 that found that Safe Streets reduced homicides and nonfatal shootings in neighborhoods where it is present, estimating an economic benefit of between $7.20 to $19.20 for every $1 invested in Safe Streets, depending on the method used to calculate the cost of gun violence.

As outlined in the City's Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan, Mayor Scott's administration is committed to supporting Safe Streets and community violence intervention work in Baltimore. This frontline violence prevention work is an important part of Baltimore's Community Violence Intervention ecosystem alongside Hospital-based Violence Intervention Programs, School-based Violence Intervention Programs, and other community-based violence intervention organizations.

MONSE publishes regular reports on Safe Streets on the agency's website, where residents can learn more about this work: Reports and Resources | Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (baltimorecity.gov).

About Safe Streets

Launched in Baltimore City in 2007, Safe Streets is a public health CVI initiative aimed at reducing shootings and homicides in targeted areas of Baltimore City. It is a movement holding the belief that violence is a disease that can be cured. Safe Streets employs credible messengers that are known in and understand the community in which they work. They are taught conflict resolution best practices and receive conflict mediation training and then inject these strategies back into their communities as the antidote against the disease of violence. This is achieved by targeting and building rapport with the high risk and key individuals who are likely to shoot or be shot. This program follows the Cure Violence model for violence intervention.

In addition to mediating conflicts, Safe Streets sites regularly hold events and partner with other community-based organizations to grow trust-based relationships with residents, foster a stronger sense of community in site catchment zones, and distribute resources that help address the root causes of violence.

Safe Streets is staffed by carefully selected individuals who have the ability to:

• Connect with those who are at the highest risk for involvement in gun violence;
• Mediate disputes;
• Promote nonviolent norms for settling disputes; and
• Connect people to services.

Safe Streets mediations are defined as the process of resolving a dispute or conflict by:

• Listening to each party involved;
• Calming the situation down;
• Identifying ways to meet each side's needs;
• Adequately addressing interests so each party is satisfied with the outcome and the conflict is successfully resolved.

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