Now, police and prosecutors work together to identify possible violent offenders - such as probationers or registered gun offenders - and attempt to arrest them for whatever they can.
Even small offenses, such as a violation of open container laws, can lead to a probation violation. Prosecutors, police and the Mayor's Office on Criminal Justice, which streamlines communication between the agencies, are updating one another on individual cases.
"We have a strategy, and everybody is on the same page as to what that strategy is," said Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy. "That strategy is to prioritize the arrests, the prosecution and the conviction of violent and repeat offenders."
City leaders praised the Police Department's 200-member Violent Crime Impact Division, which has been responsible for coordinating the effort and focusing more attention on gun crimes.
"There's much greater alignment and much better cooperation and coordination at every level of your government - federal, state and local," said O'Malley, who has shifted strategy in the Department of Parole and Probation to concentrate more on monitoring potentially violent offenders.
It was the sour personal relationship between O'Malley and Jessamy that many blamed for the lack of communication between Police Department and prosecutors for years.
Despite the recent improvements, Baltimore remains one of the most violent cities in the country per capita. And when rape, robbery, burglary and other major offenses are included, crime is down only 3 percent, according to police statistics.
Further, the city has faced several high-profile crimes in recent weeks, including the case of a Montgomery County man who is charged with drowning his three children in a Baltimore hotel.
But Steven Cager, 59, a West Baltimore resident who transports the disabled for a group home company, said he thinks some drug corners have improved - such as Fayette and Monroe and Edmondson and Pulaski - but wonders if the problem has just been moved elsewhere.
"I do think it dropped down some," said Cager, adding that he has been drug-free for 13 years. "There's drugs here, but it's not as much as it used to be."
Many attribute the reduction in killings to the new police commissioner, Frederick H. Bealefeld III, and the team he has brought in to lead the department. Morale, generally, seems to have improved in the department, and the pace of killings fell immediately after he took over in July.
For his part, Bealefeld is hesitant to celebrate. He said he is optimistic about the city's ability to maintain the slower pace into the summer but that it will take all agencies working together to make the reduction stick.
"We captured the attention of people here. There's a reason to be optimistic," he said. "It's amazing how you can paddle the boat when everybody's got an oar in the water and they're all going in the same direction."
john.fritze@baltsun.com sara.neufeld@baltsun.com
