Baltimore police will in 2023 fall under the control of Baltimore City after being classified as a state agency for more than a century. On the recent election day, 82% of Baltimore voters approved a ballot measure to bring the police department back under local control.
For more than a century, the department has functioned as a state agency leaving Baltimore City without the authority to regulate the department fully.
Now Baltimore City will no longer have to seek approval from the Maryland General Assembly when it comes to policy changes, repots FOX5. The department, however, will still remain under a federal consent decree.
The ballot question, and achieving passage, has been a key policy goal of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, who says it will allow the department to be more responsive to the community it serves.
"Local control of BPD is about racial justice, it's about police accountability, and it's about representative democracy," Scott said in a 2021 interview.
The change in control and oversight of the police department will take place on Jan. 1, 2023.
