Legislative Archive

The Community Safety and Strengthening Act was passed on April 1, 2019 and signed on April 18, 2019. Below are helpful resources and background information related to the legislation, as well as an opportunity to provide feedback and input.

Updated Final Bill Summary

Passed by the Maryland General Assembly on April 1, 2019 and signed on April 18, 2019.

Testimony by President Ronald J. Daniels

On Friday, Feb. 22, President Daniels addressed select Delegation and Committee meetings of the Maryland General Assembly in support of HB 1094, which would authorize the establishment of a police department at Johns Hopkins.

SB 793: The Community Safety and Strengthening Act

Final bill as passed by the Senate and the House.

SB 793: The Community Safety and Strengthening Act

SB 793 was introduced in the Senate on February 4, 2019.

HB 1094: The Community Safety and Strengthening Act

HB 1094 was introduced in the House on February 8, 2019.

Issue Background

The frequency and severity of violent crime on and around our campuses and across the city of Baltimore is deeply concerning, and active shooters in Maryland and across the U.S. have targeted schools and places of employment.

Characteristics of a Johns Hopkins Police Department

Johns Hopkins envisions a small, community-oriented, and campus-based police department that will be carefully recruited and publicly accountable.

Transparency and Community Accountability

Trust and confidence are essential between a Johns Hopkins Police Department and the Johns Hopkins community—including residents of the neighborhoods around the University’s campuses.

Officer Oversight and Discipline

The quality of a public safety organization is measured by how it holds itself accountable for its missteps and how it treats those who experience them. Johns Hopkins is committed to establishing an accessible complaint process open to any member of the community.

Interim Study Report

Interim Study on Approaches to Improving Public Safety on and around Johns Hopkins University Campuses

Report to the Maryland General Assembly on HB 1803
(from the 2018 Legislative Session)
December 21, 2018

This report contains the results of the interim study that Johns Hopkins undertook in response to the Maryland House Judiciary Committee’s request to explore approaches to improving public safety on and around our university campuses. We were specifically asked to seek input from stakeholders, conduct research on public safety operations in academic settings, and identify the characteristics of a best-in-class security structure for a university and its immediate surroundings. The report demonstrates our efforts to follow up on these requests.

Appendices to Interim Study Report

Appendix A: Letter from Committee Chair (April 17, 2018)
Appendix B: Johns Hopkins Security Crime Data
Appendix C1: Crime Report: East Baltimore Campus Area
Appendix C2: Crime Report: Homewood Campus Area
Appendix C3: Crime Report: Peabody Campus Area
Appendix D1: Community Email about Security: Johns Hopkins Security Response after Charles Village Robberies
Appendix D2: Community Email about Security: Homewood Campus Safety and Security Update
Appendix E: Johns Hopkins’ Commitment to Baltimore
Appendix F: Johns Hopkins’ Key Investments in Baltimore
Appendix G: Safety & Security Models at Peer Institutions
Appendix H: Academic Works Consulted
Appendix I: Organizations Consulted
Appendix J: Baltimore Sun- Hopkins President Sets Out to Garner Community Support for a University Police Force
Appendix K: Community Engagement List
Appendix L: Message to Community (Oct. 15, 2018)
Appendix M: Community Events Flyer
Appendix N: Discussion Series Bios
Appendix O: Johns Hopkins Gallup Survey
Appendix P1: Issue Paper: JHPD Recruiting, Hiring and Training
Appendix P2: Issue Paper: JHPD Police-Citizen Contacts
Appendix P3: Issue Paper: Use of Arrest and Alternatives to Arrest
Appendix P4: Issue Paper: De-escalation and Use of Force
Appendix P5: Issue Paper: JHPD Complaint and Disciplinary Process

Research

Do university police forces reduce crime?

March 2018
The Journal of Law and Economics: The Short- and Long-Run Effects of Private Law Enforcement: Evidence from University Police
by Paul Heaton, University of Pennsylvania; Priscillia Hunt, RAND Corporation; John MacDonald, University of Pennsylvania; Jessica Saunders, RAND Corporation

Abstract: Over a million people in the United States are employed in private security and law enforcement, yet very little is known about the effects of private police on crime. The current study examines the relationship between a privately funded university police force and crime in a large U.S. city. Following an expansion of the jurisdictional boundary of the private police force, we see no short-term change in crime. However, using a geographic regression discontinuity approach, we find large impacts of private police on public safety, with violent crime in particular decreasing. These contradictory results appear to be a consequence of a delayed effect of private police on crime. Read more.

More officers, fewer crimes

October 2015
Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: The Effect of Privately Provided Police Services on Crime: Evidence from a Geographic Regression Discontinuity Design
by John M. MacDonald, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Criminology; Jonathan Klick, University of Pennsylvania, Law School; and Ben Grunwald, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Criminology.

Summary: Research demonstrates that police reduce crime. A literature in criminology and economics has attempted to document the effect of extra police on crime using field experiments and natural experiments. We study this question by using a natural experiment based on geography, where a patrol boundary of a private university police department was created that added extra police to city blocks that are adjacent to the university. The assignment of extra police to this area was made without consideration to the population in the adjacent blocks or other covariates of crime. We capitalize on the discontinuity in police force size at the geographic boundary to estimate the effect of the extra police on crime. We find that the extra police provided by the university generated approximately 45-60 percent fewer crimes in adjacent city blocks. These estimates are also similar to those found in other natural experiments that do not rely on geographic discontinuity designs. This paper demonstrates the utility of geographic discontinuities for estimating the effects of social policy decisions on a variety of outcomes. Read more.

What do our peers do?

October 2018
Safety and Security Models at Peer Institutions
Summary: This table shows how our peers at Ivy Plus universities and other private urban university outside of the Maryland and Washington, D.C. area approach safety and security on and around their campuses.

Archives from the 2018 Legislative Session

Messages

Johns Hopkins explores new public safety initiative – March 5, 2018
Johns Hopkins works to amend public safety bill based on student, community feedback – March 30, 2018