Baltimore Will No Longer Prosecute Drug Possession, Prostitution, and Other Low-Level Offenses
takyon writes:
Baltimore will no longer prosecute drug possession, prostitution, low-level crimes
A year ago, as the coronavirus began to spread across Maryland, Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby stopped prosecuting drug possession, prostitution, minor traffic violations and other low-level offenses, a move aimed at curbing Covid-19's spread behind bars.
That shift - repeated by prosecutors in many other cities - didn't just reduce jail populations. In Baltimore, nearly all categories of crime have since declined, confirming to Mosby what she and criminal justice experts have argued for years: Crackdowns on quality-of-life crimes are not necessary for stopping more serious crime.
On Friday, Mosby announced that she was making her pandemic experiment permanent, saying Baltimore - for decades notorious for runaway violence and rough policing - had become a case study in criminal justice reform.
Also at WBAL-TV.
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