Baltimore City will no longer prosecute people arrested for drug possession, prostitution and other low-level criminal offenses, a continuation of a program undertaken during the pandemic to reduce the amount of people in city jail and curb the spread of the coronavirus, CNN reports.
“Today, America’s war on drug users is over in the city of Baltimore. We leave behind the era of tough-on-crime prosecution and zero tolerance policing and no longer default to the status quo to criminalize mostly people of color for addiction, said Mosby in an official press release.
The program deals with minor crimes as a public health or social service issues, thereby reducing the number of people in jail. Since the program was adopted, violent crimes are down 20% and property crimes are down 36%.
“When the courts open next month, I want my prosecutors working with the police and focused on violent offenses, like armed robbery, carjacking cases and drug distribution organizations that are the underbelly of the violence in Baltimore, not using valuable jury trial time on those that suffer from addiction,” Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said.