Editorial Advisory Board: Put control of the BCPD where it belongs

Listen to this article

The Maryland General Assembly appears set to allow Baltimore voters to decide whether the mayor and city council will entirely control the Baltimore City Police Department, now technically a state agency. The proposal has the support of key politicians, Senate President Bill Ferguson, among them, and if the bill passes, the city would place a charter amendment on the 2022 ballot giving the voters final say.

We support this.

The ACLU remarked that should control of the BCPD return to the City of Baltimore, the mayor and city council will “have the teeth to hold the department accountable.” Of even greater importance, the voters of Baltimore will be able to hold the mayor and the city council accountable for the actions of the BCPD.

Mayor Brandon Scott has not held secret his desire to reform the police department, or his desire to be able to exert local control through regulation in order to reform the department. He deserves a chance.

Little power over the police department has been ceded by the state to city government since 1860, when the legislature grabbed control of the BCPD following constant and violent fighting among factions of the city’s population. The legislature concluded all those years ago that the city had proven itself incapable of maintaining order. It was not until 1976 that the Legislature enacted a law that permitted the mayor to appoint the BCPD commissioner.

This may be the year that the city will come closer to control of its police force. This will happen if the legislature passes a bill allowing the city to send to city voters in 2022 the question of whether the BCPD should be under local control. Even the Fraternal Order of Police does not appear to oppose the concept, although it does have granular questions regarding the fiscal effect of local control on its members, such as regarding collective bargaining.

According to a report titled “The Baltimore Police Department: Understanding its Status as a State Agency,” written by a former city solicitor who worked with two administrations, published by the Abel Foundation in March 2019, if the law is repealed so that the BCPD is no longer a state agency, the city council would be free to legislate or micromanage (for good or ill) policing in the city. The report found no compelling reason to support a change to city control.

We think two things can come of transfer to the city of the right to control the BCPD. First, control will lie where it belongs, among the elected officials whose voters are affected every day by the BCPD. And, most importantly, it will give those voters the opportunity to accept or reject those elected officials who become responsible for the conduct of the BCPD.

Editorial Advisory Board member Arthur F. Fergenson did not participate in this opinion.

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

James B. Astrachan, Chair

James K. Archibald

Andre M. Davis

Arthur F. Fergenson

Nancy Forster

Susan Francis

Leigh Goodmark

Michael Hayes

Julie C. Janofsky

Ericka N. King

Stephen Z. Meehan

C. William Michaels

Angela W. Russell

Debra G. Schubert

H. Mark Stichel

The Daily Record Editorial Advisory Board is composed of members of the legal profession who serve voluntarily and are independent of The Daily Record. Through their ongoing exchange of views, members of the board attempt to develop consensus on issues of importance to the bench, bar and public. When their minds meet, unsigned opinions will result. When they differ, or if a conflict exists, majority views and the names of members who do not participate will appear. Members of the community are invited to contribute letters to the editor and/or columns about opinions expressed by the Editorial Advisory Board.