Baltimore's police commissioner said the city is beginning to see some results from its violence-reduction strategies.

It's no secret the Baltimore Police Department has struggled in its efforts to gain the trust of residents and fight violent crime. But Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison told the 11 News I-Team in an exclusive interview on Tuesday that the BPD is making strides in reducing crime and violence.

“We're not ready to brag. We're not ready to boast. We're simply saying we have some momentum coming out of the end of last year carrying over into this year,” Harrison said. “We are beginning to see some of the fruit of our labor with crime reduction, with violence reduction, mainly (with) shootings and murders and armed robberies and carjackings.”

Harrison cited a decline in both homicides and non-fatal shootings, and he credited crime-fighting strategies, collaborative efforts and partnerships with city agencies and community organizations.

“That momentum coming out of the end of last year — where we were down one murder, down 29 non-fatal shootings — though, those are modest and not very big reductions, we didn't go up, and we hadn't been down in a very, very long time — in years,” Harrison said. “That momentum from the last quarter of last year is carrying over to the first quarter this year, where we're seeing double-digit reductions.”

Appointed in February 2019 and then officially taking office the next month, Harrison has served as commissioner for four years.

“Today, we are a totally different department than we were four years ago when I started,” Harrison said.

The commissioner said the city's Group Violence Reduction Strategy appears to be working in the Western District, which is considered to be the city's most violent police district.

Harrison said the police department, city agencies and community organizations are working in collaboration to curb the violence and decrease crime, including with violence interrupters, like those with Safe Streets.

“It is not enough to just enforce,” Harrison said. “(Violence interrupters') work is as important, if not more, as any police officer doing this job. They are out there actually putting their lives on the line as well. Without Safe Streets, I think our numbers would be a lot higher and we wouldn't be where we are.”