For the first time since before the Civil War, the city of Baltimore will have full control of its police department as voters overwhelmingly passed Ballot Question E by 77% on Tuesday.
Ballot Question E defines the basic duties of the police commissioner. It was a necessary and final step for the city to finally have full control of its police department instead of the state.
“We have local control. Without a doubt. Any changes now will happen at a city hall level. That's what happened” said Ray Kelly of the Citizens Policing Project after the question passed. Kelly has been advocating for police reform, including local control, for decades. “The language was now stricken that prohibited city council and the mayor from interfering with the duties of the commissioner.”
The Baltimore City Police Department became a State Agency in 1860, after the violent Know-Nothing Party took control of Baltimore City. Multiple efforts by the city to regain control of the department over the last century have been unsuccessful.
In 2022, with the blessing of the Maryland General Assembly, city voters approved local control but additional roadblocks appeared on the way. State legislators would not strike prohibiting language from state law until the city agreed to define certain aspects of the department.
This led to Councilmember Mark Conway, who chairs Baltimore City’s Rules and Legislative Oversight Committee, to create a charter amendment that ultimately ended up before voters as Question E. In turn, state lawmakers removed the prohibiting state language during the 2024 session.
“We just needed this one last step from the voters, and now after that, it goes to be like any other city agency, as far as the council being able to legislate things that obviously wouldn't be precluded by state law,” explained Mayor Brandon Scott during a Wednesday press conference.
Now, Kelly wants to get into the work of creating a police department based on community policing models.
“For me, I would like to see more focus on civilian oversight. I would love to see the City Council actually vote to institute a Civilian Office of Police Accountability,” said Kelly, who also said that the city needs to create a “strong ladder of accountability.”
These are perennial concerns when it comes to local control. Earlier this year, Mayor Scott said that one way the city can create accountability is by making sure the reforms laid out in the federal consent decree are made permanent.
