Council President Scott Seeks Applicants for Long-Anticipated Public Safety Advisory Commission

Council President Scott Seeks Applicants for Long-Anticipated Public Safety Advisory Commission

Commission Tasked with Developing Recommendations to Foster Culture of Consistently Respectful Engagement Between Officers and Residents

BALTIMORE, MD (November 21, 2019) — After its establishment two years ago, applications have finally opened for Baltimore residents interested in serving a four-year term to guide community-police interaction and Baltimore Police Department practices. Baltimore residents have until Friday, December 13 to prepare and submit an application to the City Council President’s Office using the online application found here: bit.ly/publicsafetyac.

City Council President Brandon M. Scott will review applications and appoint the Public Safety Advisory Commission in January. As a councilmember, City Council President Scott introduced the legislation that created this commission in 2017.

The Public Safety Advisory Commission is tasked with the development of an annual report outlining community engagement protocol and best practices. This report will inform Baltimore Police Department strategy and engagement. 

“This is about making sure Baltimore residents are the ones guiding long-lasting policy and cultural change in our police department,” said Council President Scott. “Activating the Public Safety Advisory Commission and naming a group that is representative of Baltimore’s diversity is one way to ensure BPD reform efforts don’t stop at the consent decree.”

Every November, the 23-member Public Safety Advisory Commission will develop recommendations for community interaction for the Baltimore Police Department, with a goal of creating consistently positive and respectful actions between Baltimore residents and the BPD.

“Before the Consent Decree, residents and legislators collaborated to create a conduit for a community-informed process into our government. This is a community-powered effort and a big step forward for our city,” said Ray Kelly, Director of the Citizens Policing Project. “It’s critically important that everyday, directly-impacted community members are part of this process.”

Applications will be considered by the City Council President, who will appoint individuals to serve a four-year term in the following positions:

• Two Baltimore City residents, who serve at large; 
• Nine Baltimore City residents, one from each police district;
• One young person between the ages of 14-20;
• One resident of public housing;
• One re-entry professional;
• One member of the Latinx/Hispanic community; 
• One member of the LGBTQ community;

Those appointees will be joined by the Chair of the City Council Public Safety Committee, the Baltimore Police Commissioner, and the Director of the Baltimore City Office of Civil Rights and Wage Enforcement, all ex-officio members. In their place, the ex-officio members may select a designee. 

The group will also include: 

• One Baltimore City Senator, recommended by the Maryland Senate President; 
• One Baltimore City Delegate, recommended by the Speaker of the House;
• One representative of the Fraternal Order of Police;
• One representative of the Vanguard Justice Society.

Council President Scott committed to appointing the Public Safety Advisory Commission to guide long-term BPD reform efforts as part of his 26-point Legislative and Policy Agenda. Members of the public can follow the progress on this and other initiatives using the Council President’s Legislative and Policy Tracker.