Baltimore is rolling out a fresh round of neighborhood listening sessions Wednesday night, asking residents to help shape the city’s next five-year violence prevention roadmap. The outreach comes as the current Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan nears its June 30 end, and officials say what they hear now will set the tone for the years ahead.
According to CBS News Baltimore, reporter Stephanie Douglas says the sessions will bring city staff and community partners directly into neighborhoods to gather ideas, priorities, and frustrations. Organizers told CBS this is meant to be the opening round of public conversations that will guide the next five-year blueprint.
Why the sessions matter
The current plan, which runs from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2026, adopts a public health approach that organizes its work around gun violence prevention, victim services, youth justice, and re-entry. It also calls for regular town halls and listening sessions to keep residents at the center of policy decisions, according to the city's Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan.
In that document, Mayor Brandon Scott wrote, “We must no longer subscribe to the thinking that police alone can stem the tide of violence,” underscoring his administration’s push to pair enforcement with prevention, services, and community-driven solutions.
How to weigh in
The Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement is coordinating the outreach and, according to its website, will post session dates, locations, and sign-up links on its events page. Residents looking for the schedule, progress reports tied to the current plan, or options to submit comments online can check the MONSE events listings for updates and registration details.
What could change
City leaders say community input from these meetings will guide how the city adjusts investments in community-based violence intervention, the Group Violence Reduction Strategy, and services for victims. It will also inform how performance metrics and accountability tools are tightened for the next cycle, according to the plan document.
Officials say the new five-year plan is expected to build on the existing three pillars of the current strategy: a public health approach, sustained community engagement, and ongoing evaluation to track what is working and what is not.
