For the first time in a long time, there’s a tangible sense of progress in Maryland’s fight against gun violence. After years of being among the states with the highest rates of firearm homicide, Maryland is seeing a significant and sustained drop, driven in large part by a dramatic turnaround in Baltimore.
But state leaders and community partners know this progress is fragile — and that it could be fleeting. In hopes of keeping up the momentum, they’re arming themselves with better data.
This month, the Maryland Department of Health launched the Firearm Violence Data Dashboard, a public, near real-time portal designed to give officials, researchers, and community violence prevention groups the information they need to quickly and strategically respond to trends in shootings…