Baltimore Ending Prosecution of Drug Possession, Prostitution, & Lower Level Offenses

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby made the announcement on Friday, March 26th, stating that the city will no longer prosecute for prostitution, drug possession, and other low-level offenses. Attorney Mosby stated that the refocus for law enforcement needs to be on more severe offenses that violently effect the city. Her mission is to shift the narrative and remove the initiative to criminalize mostly people of color for political pleasure.

For years the black community has been plagued with mass incarceration off of small drug charges and other low-level offenses. Blacks are incarcerated in state prisons at a rate 5 times greater than that of white people. For example, in seven states, blacks constitute between 80 to 90% of all drug offenders sent to prison. The average prison time is at least 10 to 15 years for small offenses. We are all aware that the racial and social injustice issues continue to be a long and tiresome battle but the shift in Baltimore brings about a sense of hope.

Attorney Mosby along with the state’s attorney’s office have created the Covid Criminal Justice Policies Program to work with community leaders to help find solutions for people who have been involved in low-level offenses. The program itself has made great strides in decreasing the overall incarceration rate by 18% in Baltimore. Community leaders like the late Dante Barksdale, worked tirelessly for years to keep Baltimore’s streets safe from gun violence and drugs. Attorney Mosby’s decision proves to be a great step in the right direction as she urges the need to tackle more violent offenses instead of wasting valuable jury time and tax dollars on minor offenses that prove to be nothing less than an addiction.

In addition to the Covid Criminal Justice Program, the state’s attorney’s office is also working with the Baltimore Police Department and Baltimore Crisis Response Inc. to assist in tackling mental health and substance abuse services rather than arresting people who are committing these minor acts. This is a huge step for the black community as it will divert the need to call the police given the high possibility that it will result into violence and/or losing that loved one but instead calling a crisis response member to help resolve the situation.

As Attorney Mosby and the state’s attorney’s office continue to focus on leaving behind the era of tough-on crime prosecution and zero tolerance policing, I hope that this leads to a much larger movement among state and local officials to establish similar programs to tackle social injustice.