U.S. News

After a decade-long campaign, Baltimore is one step closer to true accountability for its police force. Residents say the Baltimore Police Department has long used the shield of state control to act with impunity in the communities it’s sworn to serve and protect.

For the second time in two years, voters decisively approved a measure to return the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) to city control. With 77% of the vote, Question E marked the end of 160 years of BPD operating as a state agency. Voters passed a similar measure in 2022, but it was later deemed insufficient to transfer control, prompting advocates to bring the issue back to voters on the November ballot.

Now Baltimore’s elected leaders face the challenge of transforming a police force some residents view as a source of harm rather than protection.

For answers about what local control means in the fight for justice and police accountability, Baltimore Beat spoke with Ray Kelly, a key leader in the fight to return control of the Baltimore Police Department to city residents.

One of the most meaningful impacts of local control could be oversight of the Baltimore Police Department’s massive $593 million dollar budget. The Vera Institute ranked it among the highest per-capita police budgets in the country, outpacing city spending on social services like housing, healthcare, and education combined.

“In the past, the department could justify expenses with little scrutiny. Now, the city can decide how resources are allocated in ways that better serve the community,” Kelly said.

For example, the city could require police brutality settlements — which have cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in recent years — to come from the police budget. Officials could also require that the BPD justify excessive overtime spending. A recent state audit revealed that between January 2021 and June 2022, this cost taxpayers $66 million.