Accepting applications for the Police Accountability Board

October 24, 2019

Dear Students, Faculty, Staff, and Neighbors:

We are pleased to announce the opening of the application process for the Johns Hopkins University Police Accountability Board, a crucial element of our efforts to make the future Johns Hopkins Police Department a model of transparent, accountable, community-oriented policing.

Development of the JHPD is still in its early stages, but we are seeking to convene the Accountability Board now to ensure that our values and commitments are deeply embedded in the department from its inception. Based on community feedback and research into best practices among police departments nationally, we recommended the establishment of the Accountability Board in our Interim Study on Approaches to Improving Public Safety on and around Johns Hopkins Campuses, and the Maryland General Assembly incorporated it in the law authorizing the creation of the JHPD.

The Accountability Board, unique both in Maryland and throughout the country, is designed to empower the Johns Hopkins community and its neighbors to help shape the development and operation of the JHPD. Its members will be charged with sharing community concerns directly with department leadership, reviewing police department metrics, and assessing current and prospective department policies, procedures, and training in order to provide recommendations for improvement. More broadly, the Accountability Board will serve as a mechanism for transparency, ensuring that JHPD and university leadership follow the letter and spirit of the law, and will, in doing so, foster the success and effectiveness of the JHPD.

The Accountability Board will be composed of five community members unaffiliated with the university and 10 Johns Hopkins University students, faculty members, and staff—including at least one member of the Johns Hopkins Black Faculty and Staff Association—drawn from across the three campuses where the future JHPD will operate.

A nominating committee of Baltimore City community members, students, faculty, and staff will review applications and develop a list of recommended nominees. That list will be delivered to university leadership, who will submit final recommendations to the Maryland State Senate for confirmation during the 2020 legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly.

The guidance, diverse perspectives, and thoughtful critiques of the Accountability Board members will be instrumental to the success of the Johns Hopkins Police Department. If you have a passion for community-driven public safety and a commitment to the objectives and goals of the board, including the ultimate success and effectiveness of JHPD, we encourage you to apply. Additional information about eligibility requirements, application instructions, and Nominating Committee members is on the Public Safety Initiatives website and a comment box is available to send your ideas and feedback. The deadline to apply is November 20, 2019.

We are committed to enhancing our public safety operation in ways that ensure transparency and accountability to the community. Forming the Accountability Board is one of many steps toward developing a community-driven, accountable, progressive university police department, and we look forward to working with you on each additional step in this process.

Sincerely,

Daniel G. Ennis
Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration
Johns Hopkins University

Robert Kasdin
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer
Johns Hopkins Medicine