Baltimore State's Attorney Ivan Bates is cutting ties with mayor's public safety office
Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan Bates is moving to stop his office from coordinating with the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE), which oversees the city's anti-violence initiative.
Baltimore City has seen major reductions in homicides and shootings for three years in a row.
Our media partner, The Baltimore Banner, reports that Bates sent seven pages of complaints to Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott's Office, alleging that MONSE operates behind a "cloak of secrecy."
Despite homicides declining by 60% since 2021, Bates and Mayor Scott's office have not always been on the same page.
Bates has criticized the city's Group Violence Reduction Strategy and Safe Streets, deeming them to be ineffective
Bates' letter to the mayor's office
According to The Banner, in the letter, Bates wrote that MONSE does not share his values of integrity and transparency.
In his letter, the state's attorney added that he would continue to prosecute cases brought by Baltimore Police as required by law, including cases designated by MONSE as being part of the Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS), Scott's signature violence reduction strategy program.
However, Bates said the state's attorney's office will "no longer directly coordinate with MONSE" within the framework of the strategy.
The Banner reports that Bates said he would not be using $80,000 MONSE allocated to his office for work on GVRS.
"This office cannot maintain a direct association with an organization such as MONSE that has a reputation for deceptive practices, that continues to operate under a cloak of secrecy and continues to disregard the rights of the most important element of public safety, the victims," Bates wrote.
The mayor's office responds
A spokesperson with the mayor's office told WJZ it will engage with Bates directly on his concerns.
"We remain deeply committed to the partnerships across the city that have driven our unprecedented violence reduction, especially our partnership with the State's Attorney's Office," a statement read.
The spokesperson added that any break in the partnership is a "distraction from the most important thing: saving lives and driving down violence."
WJZ reached out to the State's Attorney's Office, but has not heard back.
Continued decline in crime in Baltimore
On Monday, December 1, Mayor Scott said Baltimore City continues to see violence decrease.
The city reported 15 homicides and 18 shootings in November. However, compared to this time last year, Baltimore has had a 29.8% decrease in homicides and a 25.2% decline in non-fatal shootings.
"This progress is the direct result of our entire CVI ecosystem — the brave men and women of the Baltimore Police Department, our community violence intervention ecosystem, the State's Attorney's Office, my Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, the Office of the Attorney General, and most importantly, our residents — working toward a shared vision for a safer Baltimore," Scott said. "As we enter the last month of the year, we are doubling down on our work to continue this progress into 2026 and beyond. One life lost to violence is one too many."
As of Tuesday morning, there have been 127 homicides and 288 nonfatal shootings in 2025, which is 54 fewer homicides and 97 fewer nonfatal shootings compared to this time in 2024.
Scott said the 127 homicides are the fewest number of homicides Baltimore has seen on record since at least 1970.
The mayor's office says the police department has seized more than 2,300 firearms this year.
Additionally, aggravated assaults are down 11%, auto thefts are down 29%, carjackings are down 36%, and robberies are down 29% compared to this time last year, the mayor's office reports.