Johns Hopkins University will welcome a panel of national experts this evening for a discussion about the current landscape of university policing, one of several community conversations planned in the coming weeks as Johns Hopkins considers options to bolster its security operations.
The event is part of an ongoing effort to speak with students, community members, and city leaders about safety concerns on and around the university's Baltimore campuses; evaluate different models for university-based policing; and gather feedback on ways to reduce crime on campus and in neighboring communities.
Today's discussion kicks off a three-part series titled The Challenges of 21st Century Policing. Conversations on constitutional and community policing, law enforcement accountability, public safety training and technology, and understanding and addressing the root causes of crime are planned for later in the fall semester.
Additionally, open forums with university leaders will be held in Charles Village on Nov. 13 and in East Baltimore on Nov. 26.
All of these sessions will be open to the public, recorded, and live-streamed. Relevant information and materials will be posted on the university's Public Safety Initiatives website.
"It is our expectation that these multiple avenues for discussion and input will allow us to fully examine relevant research, consider the pros and cons of security models adopted by other universities, and gain a deeper understanding of the concerns that have been raised and how best to address them," JHU President Ronald J. Daniels and Johns Hopkins Medicine CEO Paul Rothman wrote in a message to the Hopkins community on Oct. 15.
"We look forward to hearing from you and hope to see you at one of the upcoming meetings."
Today's event begins at 6 p.m. in the Bloomberg Center for Physics and Astronomy on JHU's Homewood campus. Seats are first come, first served, but anyone who plans to attend is encouraged to pre-register online in advance.
Panelists will include:
Cedric Alexander, deputy mayor of the City of Rochester. who rose to national prominence as public safety director in DeKalb County, Georgia, where he advocated for improved relationships between police and communities
Leonard Hamm, director of public safety at Baltimore's Coppin State University and former commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department, from 2004-2007
Sue Riseling, executive director of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators; Riseling also served as chief of police at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1991-2016
Maureen Rush, vice president for public safety and superintendent of the Penn Police Department at the University of Pennsylvania
The conversation will be moderated by Lawrence Jackson, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of English and History at Johns Hopkins.
Complimentary parking will be available beginning at 5:15 p.m. in the parking garage across from the Steven Muller Building, located at 3700 San Martin Dr.
Posted in University News
Tagged campus safety and security
