Baltimore City is expanding a crime-fighting program calling it a huge success.Mayor Brandon Scott's Group Violence Reduction Strategy appears to have reduced violent crime in the western district as part of a pilot program.Scott's office had been eyeing the idea of an expansion of the program after now-confirmed successes in the western district.Scott announced on Tuesday that he would now be expanding the group violence reduction strategy into the southwest district next year."Baltimore, I am proud to announce that the pilot in the western is a success, and as we wrap up this first year, GVRS will scale up beginning with the southwest district in the top of next year," Scott said during a news conference on Tuesday.The GVRS program launched in the western district in January of this year with some pretty positive results."I always intended to expand this approach to other communities that, like the western, have historically experienced high levels of groups involved in violent crime," Scott said.According to the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, year over year, there was a 31% decrease in non-fatal shootings in the western district along with a 36% decrease in homicides, equaling almost a 34% reduction in gun violence.Video below: Should Baltimore's Group Violence Reduction Strategy expand?"This means that the western has gone from being the most violent district in our city as it relates to gun violence to the least violent among other historic chronic violent districts," said Shantay Jackson, director of the mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.The GVRS identifies and targets groups of people who are at the highest risk of involvement in gun violence by providing them with $25 stipends to have a conversation with a referral partner.They are then given money for the number of times they go through a life-coaching session, a counseling session, complete a resume or go on a job interview."The strategy involves an intentional collaboration between our department, social services and community members how much we all work together to reach those who most want to be a part of the solution," said Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison.The program is funded partly through federal grants and philanthropic donations from city partners.Scott said he hopes to have every district in the city in the program by mid-2024.