Hopkins kids getting more protection

[danb]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-hopkins-police-bill-20180305-story.html

The Johns Hopkins University is pushing legislation in Annapolis that would authorize it to create its own police force in Baltimore.

Self defense is a civil right, if you are Hopkins student, and can pay for it. I guess.

To be fair, this will free up resources for the Baltimore Police.

So are Hopkins LEOs getting those fancy surplus M4 rifles the Defense Department hands up? Because they are, ahem, civilians. And me likey.

Full disclosure: I am a Hopkins graduate. We dont all agree with Bloomberg

 

[sleepingdino]

It’s a win for everyone. The medical campus is in a truly dangerous are. They need and can afford to make their area safe.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Stephen M]

Makes perfect sense, and isn't too surprising.

College kids tend to be wealthier than the average resident of city where their urban university is located, and are generally accustomed to a higher level of personal safety.

They are often from out-of-state, though, and don't register to vote in the city where they go to school. So they don't have a whole lot of influence over local government spending priorities.

The university itself brings in money, but often owns a lot of high-valued city property that is property tax-exempt.

All this leads to strained relations between the university and the city, particularly the city police who would rather investigate homicides than bust parties for underage drinking. One or two high profile student safety incidents and the university begins to worry that parents won't send their children (money) there. So the university stands up its own police force, and everyone is happy.

 

[motorcoachdoug]

If they did that then, Would it also include John Hopkins Hospital as well? Since the hospital is a training hospital for the students who go to the med school and I think they are under the same over all umbrella of the same corporation, just a different division. It would seem to be logical to me but then we are talking about Baltimore here where they are not known for their logic.

 

[slowpoke]

My daughter really liked Hopkins when she took a college tour. I told her there was no way I could support her, financially or logistically, if she chose to attend a college in Bloody Baltimore. Smart move for the university to ask for this authority, but not enough to sway me.

Now if they said they were going to build a wall...

 

[28Shooter]

I guess now Hopkins will have to acknowledge that a "good man with a gun" is what's needed to stop a bad man with a gun...like that would ever happen!

 

[danimalw]

I guess now Hopkins will have to acknowledge that a "good man with a gun" is what's needed to stop a bad man with a gun...like that would ever happen!

I'd love to be a fly on the wall when Hopkins talks with their big donor, the Richardhead himself, Bloomberg. While I applaud Hopkins for moves to make it safer, I don't see them being pro 2A for the general population.

 

[dogbone]

Been going on for years in the Charles Village area near the university.

http://charlesvillage.org/about/

The Charles Village Community Benefits District (CVCBD) is a special taxing district located in a 100 square block area of north Baltimore. With a population exceeding 14,000 and with more than 700 businesses, it is home to four neighborhoods: Abell, Charles Village, Harwood, and Old Goucher (and parts of two others: Remington and Barclay) and three business associations: North Charles Business Association, Old Goucher Business Alliance and Waverly Main Street. The CVCBD provides supplemental sanitation and safety services, supports community events, recreational activities and the development of amenities such as green spaces, and promotes the district as a good place to live, work and play. Property owners pay a tax surcharge of 12.5 cents per $100 of assessed property value to help fund CVCBD services.

 

[Library Guy]

University of MD has their own police...

 

[danb]

My daughter really liked Hopkins when she took a college tour. I told her there was no way I could support her, financially or logistically, if she chose to attend a college in Bloody Baltimore. Smart move for the university to ask for this authority, but not enough to sway me.

Now if they said they were going to build a wall...

Roland Park is pretty isolated from the rest of Baltimore, most of the crime happens elsewhere. I doubt that the crime is better in College Park than Roland Park. If you stay on or near campus you are fine. If you feel strongly, just get her some self defense classes and a Katana sword or Taser, she will be fine. I lived there for years and was never mugged.

Truth is, most top tier university campuses are in the middle of a city. Whether its University of Chicago, Hopkins, or Penn, or Columbia. This is not a coincidence: Universities like to buy up cheap land to expand, which means expanding in run down neighborhoods.

 

[j_h_smith]

All this says it that it wants a Hopkins police force, which means they will be deputized. It does not necessarily mean they will be armed. All it means is that they will have the power to arrest. I can see the locals around the medical campus being terrified of an unarmed university police officer.

That will not end well.

 

[Boondock Saint]

Roland Park is pretty isolated from the rest of Baltimore, most of the crime happens elsewhere. I doubt that the crime is better in College Park than Roland Park. If you stay on or near campus you are fine. If you feel strongly, just get her some self defense classes and a Katana sword or Taser, she will be fine. I lived there for years and was never mugged.

Truth is, most top tier university campuses are in the middle of a city. Whether its University of Chicago, Hopkins, or Penn, or Columbia. This is not a coincidence: Universities like to buy up cheap land to expand, which means expanding in run down neighborhoods.

Hopkins isn't in Ro-land Park.

Granted, the campus itself is pretty safe, and the neighborhoods surrounding the campus aren't terrible, but some of those neighborhoods border "terrible" on the other side. As always, situational awareness goes a long way to avoid becoming a victim.

Deadly force helps even further, but that's an argument for another state, unfortunately.

 

[danb]

Hopkins isn't in Ro-land Park.

When I lived there everyone called the slice North of University Blvd between Charles and Falls Road, "Roland Park". We lived off University, it was nice. Honestly, ignorance is bliss I really never had any problem. Nor did I know at the time I should be "afraid". Of course, I was smart enough to observe that across York ave or 24th street the neighborhoods were... no bueno.

 

[j_h_smith]

When I lived there everyone called the slice North of University Blvd between Charles and Falls Road, "Roland Park". We lived off University, it was nice. Honestly, ignorance is bliss I really never had any problem. Nor did I know at the time I should be "afraid". Of course, I was smart enough to observe that across York ave or 24th street the neighborhoods were... no bueno.

I've heard the Hopkins University area called Wyman Park. Roland Park does officially start until you get to Cold Spring and points further north.

 

[-Z/28-]

Why is this bill needed? Under existing Maryland law the university should be able to have its campus security officers appointed as Maryland special police officers. That would give them full police powers on and around the university properties.

 

[PapiBarcelona]

I always figured the "Special Police" thing on private campuses were also a way for them to subterfuge complaints. Can't have kids at the big popular University making underage drinking headlines on the news every week. "Administrative punishment"

 

[danb]

I've heard the Hopkins University area called Wyman Park. Roland Park does officially start until you get to Cold Spring and points further north.

These were the days before Google maps.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/W...99ff8b15c928ebe!8m2!3d39.3308703!4d-76.627552

Most of what Google has labeled "Wyman Park" we would have called "Hampden"

Many of the people who live(d) in these neighborhoods around Hopkins (like me) are from other places outside MD, and did not use (nor would have even known) these small neighborhood names like 'Keswick" and "Tuscany-Canterbury." - Until Google maps.

 

[danb]

Why is this bill needed? Under existing Maryland law the university should be able to have its campus security officers appointed as Maryland special police officers. That would give them full police powers on and around the university properties.

Which law(s)? At least according to the article, the current law does not apply to private schools.

 

[-Z/28-]

Which law(s)? At least according to the article, the current law does not apply to private schools.

That would be the law that allows state universities to have actual police depts. I'm referring to Maryland "special police" commisions. Basically any school or business can apply to the state for permission to hire "special police officers" if they can justify the need. They are essentially armed security guards given police powers that are limited to their employers property and areas of business. Hopkins already has the ability to do this, and I believe already does.

This new bill is basically them seeking to be classified in with the state universities. I wouldn't be surprised if they ask the state for money if it goes through.

 

[Dave]

"Dear Faculty, Students, and Staff:

Over recent months, we have shared with you information about safety and security efforts on and around our university and medical campuses, including the significant and growing investments in Johns Hopkins’ own multifaceted security operations. We write to inform you of related developments at the state and city levels as we consider a new step for Johns Hopkins: establishing a university police department, specifically trained to meet the unique needs of a university environment.

The safety of our campus communities is a matter of utmost concern for Johns Hopkins, and the idea of a university police department has been suggested to us with increased urgency over the past year, given the challenges of urban crime here in Baltimore and the threat of active shooters in educational and health care settings. Johns Hopkins’ current security program is unusual among its peers; almost every other urban research university, across the country and in Baltimore, has a university police department as part of its security operation.

Last fall, we undertook a series of visits to university peers in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Los Angeles, and we began to seek the advice of outside experts and to study the experience of university police departments. We also have been working closely with Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and Police Commissioner Darryl De Sousa to explore new ways to support and strengthen the public safety strategies of City Hall and the Baltimore Police Department (BPD).

We wanted you to be informed early of this process, which requires both state and city approvals. As a first step, a bill is being introduced this week in the Maryland General Assembly that would give private colleges and universities in Baltimore City the authority to work with the BPD to create a university police department. This legislation is modeled after the existing authorization for police departments at public universities in the city, including the University of Maryland, Baltimore; University of Baltimore; Morgan State University; and Coppin State University. The department would be developed and implemented through a detailed agreement with BPD regarding the size, scope, training, and capabilities of a university police department in the same geographic area where we have patrols around our university and medical campuses.

We fully support this legislative effort as the start of a comprehensive process that must and will include extensive consultations with faculty, students, and staff across Johns Hopkins’ university and medical campuses in Baltimore, as well as with our neighbors and with leaders at the community, city, and state levels. We see this as a critical opportunity not only to strengthen public safety in and around our campuses but also to build a model university police department that focuses specifically on the needs of our community and reflects contemporary best practices at universities with academic medical centers. We expect the department to uphold in every way the core values of our institution, including a deep respect for freedom of expression, a meaningful connection to our neighbors, an unwavering commitment to equity and inclusion, and a promise of transparency and accountability.

Importantly, any university police department at Johns Hopkins would not replace our current public safety and security operations. Rather, university police officers would become part of our existing integrated security structure, serving in a complementary role to the employed and contract security teams serving on and around Johns Hopkins’ university and medical campuses in Baltimore today. This kind of focused, highly trained, and multilayered security model has proved effective at urban peer universities, and we believe it could be of great benefit to the Johns Hopkins community.

We will keep you apprised as this important security proposal progresses. Please check the Campus Safety and Security website for more information and for upcoming opportunities to learn about this proposal and offer your valuable input.

Sincerely,

Ronald J. Daniels
President, Johns Hopkins University
"