BALTIMORE — Johns Hopkins University is in the process of implementing its own police department.
It is part of the school's public safety strategy.
Two years ago, Johns Hopkins paused the development of the Johns Hopkins Police Department to benefit from policing reforms at the state level.
Now, the college is working toward fully implementing the police department.
Johns Hopkins will eliminate its heavy reliance of off-duty Baltimore City police officers.
"Importantly, even when fully implemented, the JHPD will be only one small element of our overall public safety approach, and we will continue to prioritize root cause prevention, innovative responses to behavioral health crises, and investments in community safety partnerships," said Branville Bard Jr., Vice President for Public Safety. "The police department will be small in scope, with narrowly defined jurisdictional boundaries around our Homewood, East Baltimore, and Peabody campuses and no more than 100 personnel (out of a total safety organization of over 1,000 people)."
Johns Hopkins invested $6 million into the Johns Hopkins University's Innovation Fund for Community Safety, which supports community-led initiatives in Baltimore that address some of the root causes of violence.
"These partnerships seek to address housing insecurity, job training, education, community organizing, and more, with an eye toward making a meaningful, durable difference in the rates of violent crime within our community," Bard said.
Early next month, Johns Hopkins will post a draft memorandum of understanding between Johns Hopkins and the Baltimore Police Department on the university's public safety website. Baltimore City Council will review and comment.
There will be three town hall meetings.
- September 22, 6 p.m. – Homewood/Peabody town hall at JHU Shriver Hall
- September 29, 7 p.m. – East Baltimore town hall at JHM Turner Auditorium
- September 30, 1 p.m. – Virtual town hall via livestream
All town halls will be livestreamed online at https://publicsafety.jhu.edu/updates-and-events/virtual-events/
Then, the department will recruit and train officers and make hires.
"In my first year here, I have heard clearly that members of our community want to be and feel safe, want to know that their voices are heard, and seek to have an impact in shaping the development of the JHPD and our entire public safety operation," Bard said. "Through continual community dialogue and accountability, I know we can create a campus that is safer and at the same time welcoming to all. That is my commitment, and I look forward to working together to make it a reality."
You can read the full letter here.
Johns Hopkins plan to initiate a police department faced backlash from the community for years.
In 2019, students were arrested for a sit-in protest of the college's decision to create its own police force.
Students held a sit-in at Garland Hall for more than a month.
Then, in 2020, Johns Hopkins University announced they were pausing the development of a university police department for at least two years.
More than 2,500 students and staff members and Johns Hopkins signed a petition in 2020 urging the university to abandon its plan to move forward with its goal of starting its police department.
That happened following the police brutality in the death of George Floyd.
