Johns Hopkins says it will pause the development of a police department for at least two years so that it may benefit from the national re-evaluation of policing in society.

 

"We want Johns Hopkins to be part of the conversation about what is possible for our city and country in rethinking the appropriate boundaries and responsibilities of policing, and to draw on the energies, expertise, and efforts of our community in advancing the agenda for consequential and enduring reform. And we want to be able to work now—with a sense of shared purpose and commitment, with our neighbors, and across our university community—to develop and model these alternative approaches," wrote Ronald J. Daniels, president of the university; Paul B. Rothman, dean of the medical faculty and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine; and Kevin W. Sowers, president of the Johns Hopkins Health System and executive vice president of Johns Hopkins Medicine.

 

The letter added that taking the immediate implementation of the JHPD off the table will give leadership the opportunity to invest in alternative approaches to reduce to the greatest extent possible of reliance on policing and to improve existing non-sworn campus safety and security operations through enhanced training professional development and oversight.