Mayor Catherine Pugh is bringing changes to the Safe Streets program in Baltimore city.
Safe Streets is a crime reduction program that uses reformed offenders to help reach and interrupt violence in certain Baltimore neighborhoods. The city currently has four chapters in the city and each year the groups boast some impressive numbers.
Mayor Pugh now says she plans to run it out of her office, instead of the city's health department. She says that will help pump more resources into the program.
Pugh says her intent is to use city funds along with private money to expand the program,
"Initially when the program started it was through grants but right now it is the city that is funding the program and this expansion will be mostly through private dollars and additional city dollars."
The mayor expects to add six more Safe Streets sites, taking the program from four neighborhoods to 10.
This process is not immediate though and will take all of 2018 to implement.
