BALTIMORE (WBFF) — On a sunny Friday afternoon, sounds of a generator humming could be heard along Cherry Hill Road in between cheers, clapping, and children laughing as the ribbon was cut, officially opening the new location for the Safe Streets Cherry Hill site.
The celebration marked the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the Cherry Hill Safe Streets site. Mayor Brandon Scott, City Council President Nick Mosby, Senate President Bill Ferguson and other leaders were on hand for the occasion.
“With competent individuals that know their communities like the back of their hand, we do have an equation to drive down crime,” Mosby said.
Dozens of Safe Streets workers from other locations were on hand as well. The Cherry Hill site is managed by Catholic Charities, one of the two nonprofits operating the 10 Safe Streets sites across Baltimore. In addition to the Cherry Hill site, Catholic Charities manages the Penn-North location, Sandtown-Winchester, and Brooklyn sites.
For more than two years, FOX45 News has been investigating how the Safe Streets program operates and how City Hall spends millions of taxpayer dollars annually. During remarks, Mayor Scott and others brought up a 2023 study from Johns Hopkins University detailing the effectiveness of the Safe Streets program.
“Homicides plunged by 32% at most of the established Safe Streets sites in the first four years of implementation,” Mayor Scott said. “The results have continued to support the claim that when programs like safe streets are properly funded, they can reduce gun violence.”
Mayor Scott did not mention that the study also indicated there was no real reduction in homicides in the city’s newest Safe Streets sites at the time of the study; he also failed to mention the city commissioned the study and spent more than $144,000 on it.
The ribbon cutting ceremony was an opportunity to ask questions as well. For months, FOX45 News has questioned Mayor Scott and others about who the Safe Streets employees are, what their schedules are for their workday, and other transparency questions.
“Mikenzie, we understand that you guys want to know exactly when safe streets workers do everything,” Mayor Scott said when FOX45 News asked when the location would be operational.
Mayor Scott then turned to the crowd and asked if they knew when Cherry Hill Safe Streets workers were doing their job, in which the crowd cheered.
“I’m pretty sure they already know because they live here. But again, the office will be open, they will have folks in there. But I want to be very clear – this is not office work,” Mayor Scott said. “This is work done out in the streets, in the community, often late at night. We will have folks out in the community when they need to be to prevent violence. Period.”
Mayor Scott was again asked for a schedule for the violence interrupters.
“Does violence have a schedule? No – 24 hours, 365 – whenever they need to be out there, they will be out there,” he said.
But that comment doesn’t exactly match what LifeBridge Health – the other nonprofit operating Safe Streets locations – gave to FOX45 News in early May. The statement, which was attributed to both LifeBridge and Catholic Charities, indicated there are set workdays and schedules.
“Site schedules are tailored to meet the specific needs of the communities they serve, which often involve evening and weekend shifts. Most site hours range from 12 p.m. to midnight,” the statement read. “Employees may work additional hours as needed to mediate conflicts and/or staff community events.”
The new Cherry Hill location needed about $200,000 in tenant renovations, according to Catholic Charities Executive Director Bill McCarthy. It’s unclear what the monthly rent is for the space.
As FOX45 News has been investigating the program, Mayor Scott often cites safety concerns as a reason why the names of the violence interrupters are not shared with the public; the salaries of the employees are funded through tax dollars, and a qualification for a candidate is to be a credible messenger in the community.
Despite several workers on hand for the ribbon cutting, appearing on various television cameras and in photos, Mayor Scott again refused to provide the names of the workers when asked Friday.
“We will treat them the same way we would treat everyone when it comes to personnel issues and we will treat them the same way we would treat anyone who does life changing work and life dangerous work,” Mayor Scott said when questioned by FOX45 News. “Next question.”
No Safe Streets workers were made available for an interview with FOX45 News. Catholic Charities allowed FOX45 News to get a tour of the new location, but cameras were not allowed inside.
Follow Political Reporter Mikenzie Frost on X and Facebook. Send tips to mbfrost@sbgtv.com.
