[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6348833,"mediaKeyId","2240270-0e23a78a569635126d5371dfc91fd070","parentId",2240270,"title","City pilot places community teams in four high schools; $250,000 per-school funding cited","audioSeconds",980,"startMs",3741859,"endMs",4722380,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2240270-0e23a78a569635126d5371dfc91fd070&start=3741&end=4722","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2240270-0e23a78a569635126d5371dfc91fd070/thumbnail_3741859.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6348833/Baltimore-City/Baltimore-County/Maryland/City-pilot-places-community-teams-in-four-high-schools-250000-per-school-funding-cited","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6348833-881874fe43138419b3bc755337dd33db/orig.mp4?Expires=1771213654&Signature=U02Y9PgWqQZZelmstOszT0zEOdMhcBqbM-L2Htrv8j2utt65hysV70PsHdBx1Ox-KcmmoWYHiMMZXiWKYkVUMoT-b81i-lQeCQ9e6f4uvwf9XnOQKPTiNTrrcZUnIejh2lPsdhzRU4B01bh5Q6lEb~0mKTt2JAid7CRJy6WVhLWeSuOk535sOwta2nGbk5CYX7G9sJyqOBR89Vhjku5C8omH99yswMqqNn40fiNFjeEOEABQTQ-dJQPRaF0tOIl4Lcd58Sp5UB8EO-i9Czc0FIPaC1A91yO1nGdQ6NlrliGz387WzlblGIzDp8cDmHlIsBePIMtkQ1tOjVl1OCGj-g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of Baltimore, MD","date","2025-02-05T18:14:01Z","article","The mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) told the Public Safety Committee on Feb. 11, 2025, that a school‑based violence intervention pilot is active in four Baltimore high schools and has produced early signs of reduced suspensions and improved school climate.

Stephanie Mavronis, director of MONSE, described the pilot as a partnership with Baltimore City Public Schools and community-based organizations in which teams of intervention specialists and student ambassadors work in and around schools to provide conflict mediation, youth development and wraparound services. “The goal is to promote a positive school and community environment by addressing violence through a coordinated approach,” Mavronis said.

Scope and staffing: The pilot operates at Mervo, Carver, Digital Harbor and Edmondson Westside. Each school’s initial staffing model includes a program supervisor, two intervention specialists and eight student ambassadors (two per grade). MONSE told the committee the preliminary allocation is roughly $250,000 per school, with the bulk of funds paying staff, stipends for student ambassadors and program activities.

Funding: MONSE reported $700,000 from Wells Fargo and the National League of Cities to support the first phase of the pilot (Movement Team and PEACE Team contracts), state allocations for safe-streets initiatives directed to the program, and a multiyear commitment to Digital Harbor from the casino local impact fund.

Early outcomes and evaluation: Arnetta Shelton, chief of community violence intervention, described initial tracking in an Apricot database that will capture mediations, interventions, home visits, restorative conversations and student-engagement measures as well as demographic details. Shelton said principals have reported preliminary improvements: at Digital Harbor the presentation cited a 50% reduction in suspensions compared with the prior year during overlapping reporting windows, and principals attributed better attendance and climate in part to the Movement Team’s proactive engagement.

Shelton said the city will identify an evaluation partner and finalize performance metrics. “We are in the early stage of this program and the data are promising,” she told the committee, noting the need for a baseline and at least one full school year of implementation to support a rigorous evaluation. The office said it will collect attendance, suspension, repeated-incident counts and school-climate survey data in collaboration with City Schools.

Victim services and referrals: Mark Mason, chief of victim services for MONSE, said his team has received referrals from the pilot and provided stabilization services including victim support and relocation assistance in specific cases. MONSE said it is formalizing a referral process so school-based intervention staff can connect students and families quickly to victim services and other supports.

Next steps: MONSE said it will continue site visits, host parent information sessions, finalize the Apricot tracking system and identify an external evaluator. Staff told the committee they will provide further program metrics to the Public Safety Committee at future oversight hearings and will work with councilmembers who requested school-level and neighborhood-level outcomes.

Speakers quoted in this article are identified from the hearing transcript. No ordinance or formal vote was taken on the pilot during the hearing.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","City Council Hearing:Public Safety Committee; February 5, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement told the Public Safety Committee that a four‑school pilot of community-led violence intervention teams is in operation, funded by a mix of private, state and local sources and designed to reduce incidents and improve school climate.","taxTitle","Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Maryland","taxId",4816,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6348837,"Police present higher clearance rates and new youth-targeted robbery pattern; council seeks more data",363,339530,703000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2240270-0e23a78a569635126d5371dfc91fd070&start=339&end=703","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2240270-0e23a78a569635126d5371dfc91fd070/thumbnail_339530.jpg","/articles/6348837/Baltimore-City/Baltimore-County/Maryland/Police-present-higher-clearance-rates-and-new-youth-targeted-robbery-pattern-council-seeks-more-data","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6348837-965ec3bdb1aa856f988ee03cda356f1c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771213654&Signature=TYBCwL6dk1dfKRFUBGLiTDBqmcLwr-Jp4OPMzjVkNDWMpOr3LvtP8YIgZTu0OslaZL3oNh87E~mi1t4iLapFS-l1TAVwkEJm0QiCp9ORnKOE7icAaKT91yz~6ETPE9ucTI6bzCPhJXPH7zF~wECjuFdntQ~OTb~jbmeG5cENYKNB7mQULR90nwnRJk6yKU4dcs6SBhp8lUZxHaqgFrXmLRxwZWz52YTEMqUuMsdBWjl-CiMBRB6brWfXgcGF3eJ4zbdnwJgvIWun7eBpBZWTjmaSWvOfE3chlydzQtcNIXtPFbjMsxBA4sSzo5UW0hNbuafxnWicdSieDl~tnCplNg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At a Baltimore City Council Public Safety Committee oversight hearing on Feb. 11, 2025, the Baltimore Police Department reported higher clearance rates compared with the same period in 2024 and described emerging patterns: an increase in juvenile arrests, a rise in narcotics violations, and a citywide series of robberies in which youths were targeted for branded jackets.

The report, delivered by the department’s Deputy Commissioner, said officers and detectives have used intelligence-led approaches, expanded video and license-plate technology, and focused detective time to improve case closures. “We continue to work diligently with our investigative units to improve these numbers leveraging technology and intelligence based policing,” the Deputy Commissioner said during the presentation.

Why it matters: Council members called the clearance-rate improvements and the 2024 homicide decline encouraging, but pressed for more granular data to understand whether better clearance percentages reflect more solved cases or simply a smaller denominator. That distinction matters for budget and oversight decisions about staffing, technology and prevention programs.

The Deputy Commissioner told the committee that homicide and robbery clearance rates have increased year to date and that the department’s homicide and robbery units have been able to “do actual detective work” because a reduced caseload in 2024 freed investigative capacity. The presentation also said narcotics violations have risen “for a long period of time” and remain an enforcement priority.

Council President Nick J. Cohen praised the department’s work. “Baltimore is a safer city than it was last year and than it was the year before that,” Cohen said, adding that reductions in nonfatal shootings and homicides reflect work by police, the mayor’s office, state partners and community organizations.

On juvenile crime, the Deputy Commissioner described a pattern of youths being “targeted for their North Face jackets,” noting an estimated 11 cases citywide in the previous week concentrated in the Northern District. He said investigators are using school police notification, targeted patrols, body-worn camera review and search warrants to identify suspects. “We are being proactive in those areas… getting out of the car, engaging individuals,” he said.

Councilmembers pressed for follow-up data. Chair Mark Conway and other members requested a breakout showing the numerator and denominator behind the clearance-rate percentages so the committee can see how many cases underlie the rates and whether the improvement is driven by more closures, fewer crimes, or both. The Deputy Commissioner agreed to provide more detailed clearance-rate data at the March oversight session.

Narcotics enforcement: Committee members asked the department to separate types of narcotics arrests (misdemeanor possession versus possession with intent to distribute). Aaron Murphy, identified in the hearing as a department data/government-affairs contact, said the department can supply arrest counts based on initial CJIS arrest codes and will try to parse possession-only versus possession-with-intent categories for future briefings while noting that court outcomes can later change charging classifications.

CAD productivity and response: Councilwoman Porter raised concerns that CAD (computer-aided dispatch) records may not reflect all police responses and asked whether response gaps were being missed in the presented “CAD productivity” slide. The department said unit numbers are the basis for the report (responses are tied to unit activity) and offered to look into specific missing-response questions after the hearing.

Other operational questions included equitability of proactive deployments across districts. The Deputy Commissioner said district commanders choose tactics (foot, bike, vehicle, or specialized units) and that regional enforcement teams are used when districts need additional sustained presence. Council members asked the department to keep monitoring and to prioritize proactivity where violent crime trends indicate the need.

What the committee directed or requested:
- BPD to provide the underlying counts (numerator/denominator) used to compute clearance rates at the next oversight hearing in March. (Requested by Chair Conway and President Cohen.)
- BPD to provide a disaggregated narcotics-arrest report (possession vs. possession-with-intent where feasible) for future briefings; data will be based on arrest codes and subject to subsequent court classification. (Aaron Murphy accepted this task.)
- BPD to investigate CAD nonresponse questions raised by Councilwoman Porter and report back.

Speakers quoted in this article are identified from the hearing transcript. No formal votes or ordinances were taken during this part of the hearing; the committee used the session for oversight questioning and data requests.","At a Baltimore City Council Public Safety Committee oversight hearing on Feb. 11, 2025, the Baltimore Police Department reported year-to-date increases in clearance rates and described new enforcement priorities — including a pattern of youths being robbed for branded jackets — while councilmembers pressed for more detailed data.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6348827,"Safe Passage program expands to morning and afternoon coverage; officials report fewer nearby incidents at pilot sites",773,7262715,8036375,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2240270-0e23a78a569635126d5371dfc91fd070&start=7262&end=8036","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2240270-0e23a78a569635126d5371dfc91fd070/thumbnail_7262715.jpg","/articles/6348827/Baltimore-City/Baltimore-County/Maryland/Safe-Passage-program-expands-to-morning-and-afternoon-coverage-officials-report-fewer-nearby-incidents-at-pilot-sites","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6348827-6bddbc0a06c387f1ee241e8904075118/orig.mp4?Expires=1771213654&Signature=COW1X2hq1QB0RiPP7sCR8MLw6-lypp6WZRtb7aOWStQHVMOvNmrSfVpTDLJ1EIxA4jOTQmMILigbMphGBVDaogm9KO0mG2N-GUPT9iWQXf~Rc8JAQuSSnDASWwntP9Sy0Yk2HbjUG-e3eTpgzv59DsbasslnbpAZsD~th6gx5IPvZ6cPJCGFT3EALoiskSZ-ey1pUZoKmB9WcDJzWyxmiouetJDdm86gnnTJWvpaTr0sfYsRcqAmDWT42PjieeNXtbliGRXTBnY60lTKsLLHXweCWs72fghDXU6c7kuOEsPFsUdan9MkUYc~WjMbnQyNqao7d2ApfTXnH1aJ2A7eMA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Doctor Brooks, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success (MOCFS), updated the Public Safety Committee that Safe Passage — a community‑based program to protect students traveling to and from school — expanded service hours and locations during the 2024–25 school year and reports early reductions in nearby incidents at covered sites.

Origins and scope: Safe Passage began as a spring 2023 pilot focused on bus hubs and was expanded with city partners for the 2024–25 school year. Brooks said community-based organizations (CBOs) staff designated walking and bus‑hub locations, usually with four to six staff members per location wearing orange vests labeled “Safe Passage.” The program operates at multiple schools including Patterson, Northern Campus (Reginald F. Lewis), Digital Harbor, Carver, Frederick Douglass (Northwestern High School), Edmondson, Mervo, Ben Franklin and Walter P. Carter, with some sites covered in both morning and afternoon hours.

Funding and partners: The program is supported through Family League funding and coordinated with Baltimore City Public Schools, Baltimore Police Department school police, MOCFS and other agencies. Chief Shorter (school police) and Deputy Commissioner staff emphasized that cooperation among school police, BPD and CBOs is central to the model.

Data and early outcomes: MOCFS presented incident counts measured within a half‑mile radius during safe‑passage hours (described in the presentation as 2–4 p.m. for afternoon coverage) and said several pilot locations show year‑over‑year decreases in reported violent incidents, including robbery, shootings and sexual assault categories in those neighborhoods. Chief Shorter noted a decrease in calls for service near the Digital Harbor campus compared with prior reporting periods and described stronger relational ties between students and Safe Passage workers.

Operations and reporting: CBO partners submit monthly reports and incident reports; MOCFS said it also conducts quarterly convenings with CBOs, school leaders and law-enforcement partners to review glows and grows and adjust coverage. MOCFS and CBOs also conducted joint site walks, pre-launch family meetings, and faculty briefings at new schools (for example, Walter P. Carter) to ensure school staff and families understood the program and reporting expectations.

Challenges and requests: Officials noted growth areas: improving rapid communication channels among CBOs, school police and BPD, standardizing incident reporting, and determining sustainable funding beyond one‑time sources. Councilmembers asked for a per‑school cost breakdown to support budget planning; MOCFS agreed to provide a cost-per-school estimate and noted costs vary by school footprint and hours of coverage.

Examples in practice: MOCFS and partners cited an Ace-area shooting outside a campus where school police, BPD and the CBO coordinated lockdown procedures and follow-up family referrals. CBOs also reported noncriminal interventions — such as partnering with a local business to limit inside-grouping — that reduced management complaints and quelled disruptive behavior.

Speakers quoted in this article are identified from the hearing transcript. The committee did not adopt any ordinance or funding appropriation during the hearing.","The mayor’s Office of Children and Family Success described Safe Passage expansions in 2024–25. Community-based partners work morning and afternoon shifts at multiple school hubs; early data show decreases in reported violent incidents within a half-mile during safe-passage hours and reduced calls for service in some neighborhoods.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

City pilot places community teams in four high schools; $250,000 per-school funding cited

Police present higher clearance rates and new youth-targeted robbery pattern; council seeks more data

Safe Passage program expands to morning and afternoon coverage; officials report fewer nearby incidents at pilot sites