Johns Hopkins and Baltimore Police Sign Agreement for Campus Police Force

Johns Hopkins University has officially signed a memorandum of agreement with the Baltimore City Police Department, allowing the university to move forward with plans for a private campus police force. The announcement was made on Friday, following months of public discourse often marked by protests against the initiative.

This operating agreement, which is mandated by state law, was signed by Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison and Branville Bard, the university’s vice president for public safety. The decision comes despite significant opposition from various faculty members, students, and local residents.

The establishment of a private armed police force at Johns Hopkins had been on hold for two years due to heightened scrutiny and unrest following the 2020 death of George Floyd. With this agreement, the university is now poised to develop the necessary policies and procedures to create the police department.

The goal is to have officers in place across three campuses—Homewood, Peabody, and the East Baltimore hub—by the fall of next year. Bard has expressed that the current security measures are insufficient, emphasizing the need for a dedicated police presence to effectively respond to incidents of violence on campus.

“Violence impacts us all too frequently and everybody deserves to feel safe,” Bard stated in September.

While the new police department will supplement the Baltimore Police Department’s resources, Bard clarified that it will not serve as a backup for the city’s police in times of need. Instead, this initiative is aimed at providing dedicated resources to the university community.

Once operational, the Johns Hopkins Police Department will be required to report traffic enforcement data and crime statistics to the Baltimore Police Department as stipulated in the agreement.

Reported by HarborBeat based on WYPR (source).