Youth violence reduction to be focus of Ivan Bates annual community town hall
The town hall will include Bates and other city leaders, and focus on discussing strategies for reducing juvenile crime.
Crime involving youth in Baltimore City
Curbing violence among juveniles has been an ongoing task for Baltimore City leaders.
Just Monday, two teens aged 15 and 16 were injured after a shooting in Southeast Baltimore.
On April 26, two 17-year-olds were injured after a shooting in Southwest Baltimore.
Days later, a group of 16 teenagers were charged with a string of violent crimes, including robbery, auto theft, and assault.
The overall effort to reduce crime in the city has persisted for years, with some positive results.
Baltimore Mayor Scott's crime reduction efforts
Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott has implemented multiple programs to reduce youth violence, including the city's Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS).
Scott has praised the program, crediting it for helping the city reach a 24% reduction in homicides, and a 34% reduction in non-fatal shootings in 2024 compared to 2023.
According to the Mayor, GVRS "facilitates direct, sustained engagement with a small number of group-involved individuals who are the most likely to be the victim or perpetrator of violence."
The program first launched in Baltimore's Western District in January 2022 and later expanded to the Southwestern, Central, and Eastern Districts.
The city also implemented the Summer Youth Engagement Strategy.
To help deter violence, the initiative established a curfew for city youth, along with specialized youth programming.
Scott said that after implementing the program last summer, the number of shooting victims decreased by 66%, and the number of aggravated assault victims dropped by 31%.
The programming includes 42 summer campsites through recreation and parks, and the return of the city's Rock the Block parties, midnight basketball, and parties at the Druid Hill Pool.
In addition, hours at nine of the city's recreation centers throughout the city will be extended until 11 p.m. every Friday and Saturday from June 20 until Aug. 16.
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At about 55%, the tariff includes a 10% 'reciprocal' tariff the US placed on trade partners in April, 20% levies imposed on China for what Trump said was its role in the flow of illegal fentanyl into the US, and pre-existing duties, according to the White House. Chinese experts say a key priority for Beijing is to seek the removal of the 20% fentanyl-related tariffs. Last month, China announced it would add two more fentanyl precursors to its list of controlled substances, and placed nitazenes – a class of powerful synthetic opioids – on another list of controlled drugs. He Weiwen, a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, a Chinese think tank, told the state-run Global Times that the key focus of this round of talks is to build on agreements reached in previous talks, and push for more 'tangible results.' 'The first priority is resolving the remaining tariff issues, particularly those imposed by the US under the pretext of fentanyl, and the second surrounds how China and the US can further deepen economic and trade cooperation,' said He, who previously served as a diplomat to the US. Beijing may also ask Washington to further roll back technology export controls it has previously imposed on China, including the blacklisting of hundreds of Chinese companies under the Commerce Department's Entity List for trade restrictions, according to Wu Xinbo, director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai. During his first term, Trump began placing tech restrictions on Chinese firms including national tech champion Huawei. His successor, former President Joe Biden, followed up by broadening the scope of the curbs to a wide swath of categories. 'After this period of US-China rivalry, the US side has come to realize that China holds significant cards – and more importantly, is willing to play them when necessary,' said Wu, who is an adviser to China's foreign ministry. The cards, he explained, refer to America's reliance on China's supply chain, including but not limited to rare earths minerals and magnets – needed for everything from everyday electronics and vehicles to fighter jets. At the height of the trade war with the US in April, China leveraged its global dominance in the rare earths supply chain and put new licensing requirements on the exports of seven types of rare earth minerals and several magnets. The significant decline in rare earth exports from China, despite the trade truce reached in May in Geneva, reignited tensions, prompting Trump to take 'countermeasures,' including export controls on chip software, ethane and jet engines. The renewed spat calmed only after the London meeting last month, when Beijing agreed to allow the flow of rare earths and Washington decided to lift its export restrictions. But China has learned the value of its leverage on US. Wu said the country's leverage goes beyond rare earths to – among other things – drone and electric vehicle battery supply chains, where China plays a significant role. The divestment of TikTok US from its Chinese owner ByteDance, which is subject to Beijing's approval, is another card, he said. 'In the past, we didn't consciously use these cards. Now, I believe China will increasingly take the initiative to consider playing them,' he said. On Tuesday, Bessent said he intended to warn Beijing over its continued purchase of sanctioned Russian and Iranian oil, as well as its support for Russia's war against Ukraine. Trump has previously threatened 100% secondary tariffs on goods from countries that continue buying Russian oil, namely China and India, and legislation to that effect has been gaining momentum. Wu said China is unlikely to entertain such a tariff threat and stop importing oil from Russia or Iran, but he said Beijing is aware that the US may leverage the threat, to force its cooperation on issues such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and talks with Iran. Marc Stewart in Beijing contributed reporting.
