If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results each time, then Baltimore is certifiable.
The city, like many other Democratic-run urban centers, seems to believe that if something is not working, it just needs more money. That is how nearly $1.2 million in federal funds is making its way into Baltimore’s coffers to fund a twice-failed “violence reduction” program.
In May, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Maryland Democrat, presented a gigantic check to Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott to expand the 4-year-old Group Violence Reduction Strategy.
The program identifies people at greatest risk of committing violent offenses and then, as Jason Johnson, a former Baltimore police deputy commissioner, put it, tells them “the consequences of continued involvement in criminal activities and ways to get out.”
The mayor’s office bills it as a “proven plan” to reduce shootings and homicides.
Yet it may not be doing either and warrants a closer look, as do at least two other mayor’s office endeavors.
Launched in 2022, the Group Violence Reduction Strategy was preceded by two similar anti-violence programs that both tanked.
In 1998, Baltimore started Operation Safe Neighborhoods to target “violent groups in a drug market area,” according to a paper from Arizona State University. It was “dismantled due to political infighting, resistance to operational changes, and obstruction by some of the partnering agencies.”