Posted on 12/03/25
| News Source: WBAL
Baltimore, MD -- Dec. 3, 2025 - Baltimore police Commissioner Richard Worley discussed the city’s significant reduction in homicides and shootings in 2025, attributing the success to partnerships and community cooperation.
With just under one month left in the year, Baltimore City has experienced 127 homicides, which is 45 fewer than this time last year. The city has also seen a reduction in nonfatal shootings, nearly 25% down compared to last year.
Worley spoke on the “T.J. Smith” show Tuesday morning. When asked about the historic reduction in homicides, Worley credited agencies and officers across the city and state working together.
“That’s still too many. One is too many. But the lowest recorded since 1970, for a year, was 171,” Worley said. “So we have a chance to beat that, and then, next year, we want to do better.”
Worley also noted the clearance rate, which is the number of crimes solved. For homicides, it is over 60%.
“Our detectives have done a phenomenal job. I’d put our homicide and our shooting detectives up against anybody in the country,” Worley said. “This just shows what they can do when they have the proper time to investigate the cases, and they don’t have too many cases.”
Despite the positive trends, Worley acknowledged the challenges posed by juvenile crime and the need for legislative changes to address repeat offenders. He emphasized the importance of discipline for young people to prevent them from entering the adult criminal system.
“They’ve got to get discipline, or they’re going to be part of the adult system,” Worley said. “That doesn’t lead to anything except for jail or violence and, unfortunately, an unproductive life as an adult.”
Looking ahead to 2026, Worley identified staffing and juvenile crime as key challenges, while expressing confidence in the department’s ability to build on the successes of 2025.
“I think the biggest challenge is going to be staffing and morale. I think they will both increase. One, as the staffing increases, the morale will increase. Crime is always challenging, and probably the most challenging thing is continually, unfortunately, we talked about is juveniles,” Worley said. “There’s got to be some kind of solution for these young people who continue to basically say they’re not going to listen to the system and they’re going to do what they want.”