| U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE LEVERAGING FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS TO HELP DRIVE SHARP DECLINE IN VIOLENT CRIME ACROSS MARYLAND Baltimore City sees lowest homicide total on record as violent crime declines statewide.  Baltimore, Maryland – The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland announced today that, thanks to cooperative efforts between Federal, State, and local partners, statewide violent crime continued to significantly decline in 2025. Homicides and non-fatal shootings are down statewide, including in Baltimore City, for the fourth year in a row. Since 2021, statewide homicides have declined by 50 percent. In 2025, Baltimore City saw 133 murders — the lowest on record since 1977 — which reflects a 31-perecent drop from 2024, and a 61-percent decrease since 2021. This is only the fifth time the City logged under 200 murders since 1970, and is the first time it recorded under 200 homicides in back-to-back years, since 1978. Non-fatal shootings statewide and in Baltimore City were also down, in 2025, by 28 percent and 25 percent, respectively. Additionally, in Prince George's County, as of December 31, homicides declined by 41 percent in 2025.  These declines demonstrate the value of strategic collaboration between Federal, State, and local law enforcement. In this way, federal resources are leveraged as a force multiplier for the safety and security of all Marylanders. This dynamic is on display through the U.S. Attorney's Office's leveraging of state-funded Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys (SAUSAs) to help with the fight against violent crime. The U.S. Attorney's Office partners with the Office of the Maryland State Prosecutor, Office of the State's Attorney for Prince George's County, and the Office of the State's Attorney for Baltimore City — who provide SAUSAs to work in federal court alongside federal prosecutors — to tackle violent crime. Utilizing these SAUSAs is directly tied to the drop in statewide violent crime. In 2025, the U.S. Attorney's Office worked with its State partners to onboard six SAUSAs, bringing the total to nine active SAUSAs working full time out of the Baltimore or Greenbelt U.S. Attorney's offices. "The recent decline in violent crime across Maryland reflects what is possible when we work together with focus and purpose," said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes. "By strategically leveraging Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys — and strengthening our partnerships with Federal, State, and local law enforcement — we are multiplying our impact and ensuring that the most serious offenders are held accountable. Public safety remains our top priority, and we will continue to use every tool available to keep Maryland's communities safe." In Baltimore City, SAUSAs, who are funded through grants from the Governor's Office of Crime Prevention and Policy, lead efforts to prosecute individuals who violate federal firearm laws. SAUSAs also assist the Baltimore Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives with separate armed robbery, carjacking, homicide and non-fatal shooting investigations. Additionally, SAUSAs actively help investigate and prosecute multiple firearms, narcotics, robbery, and carjacking cases with a nexus to Prince George's County and the surrounding area.  As a result of using all available resources, and increased collaboration with Federal, State, and local prosecutors and law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Attorney's Office is successfully investigating and prosecuting individuals and organizations responsible for committing firearms trafficking; drug trafficking; violent carjackings; bank robberies; gang-related murders — including the murder of a 16-year-old girl, and multiple murders in connection with an MS-13 RICO Act conspiracy — and other violent crimes. These strong collaborations have helped drive major declines in violence, and are connected to the Department of Justice's Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). This program brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make neighborhoods safer for everyone. Additionally, the U.S. Attorney's Office is helping eradicate violent crime while improving neighborhood safety through utilizing the newly formed Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF). The HSTF is an initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. It is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. This includes prosecuting foreign nationals who committed murders and stabbings, along with illegal aliens who sold illicit fentanyl in the state. For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach. # # # |
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