Johns Hopkins University is seeking applicants to join its Police Accountability Board, a group charged with helping to shape the development and operation of the Johns Hopkins Police Department (JHPD). The board plays a pivotal advisory and oversight role in advising the university as the JHPD begins to take shape.
The deadline to apply is Oct. 24, 2024; applications can be completed on the university's Public Safety website. The board currently has 11 open seats due to the completion of previous terms, 10 of which are open to applicants—three for community members, two for faculty members, one for a staff member, and four for students. The final vacancy will be filled by a member appointed by the Baltimore City Mayor. More information about the application process is available on the Public Safety website.
The 15-member accountability board was started in 2019 as part of the Community Safety and Strengthening Act, the state law authorizing the JHPD. By statute, board members are charged with sharing community feedback directly with JHPD leadership, reviewing JHPD metrics involving crime, and assessing current and prospective department policies, procedures, and training to provide recommendations for improvement.
The board includes five community members not affiliated with JHU and 10 students, faculty, and staff members. Hopkins representatives are drawn from across the three campuses where the JHPD will operate—East Baltimore, Homewood, and Peabody—and include at least one member from the Johns Hopkins Black Faculty and Staff Association. Baltimore community members also represent these three areas where the JHPD may patrol.
Applications submitted by the Oct. 24 deadline will be reviewed by a nominating committee of Baltimore City community members, students, faculty, and staff, who will develop a list of recommended nominees for consideration by university leadership. University leaders will announce the new nominees in November. In January 2025, the list of nominees will be sent to the Maryland State Senate for consideration and confirmation during the legislative session.
The membership of the board reflects Johns Hopkins' dedication to empowering diverse people, ideas, and experiences. Accountability board members will be expected to share a respect for diversity and a commitment to working across differences to ensure the JHPD is successful and effective and lives up to its promise to be the most progressive, accountable university police department in the nation.
The board meets at least quarterly and holds at least one public meeting each year to seek input on JHPD policies, procedures, and training from community members, with meeting minutes posted on a website available to the public.
Non-student members must have significant ties to the Baltimore City community through residency and be willing to serve a two-year term from June 1, 2025–May 31, 2027. Student members must be willing to serve a one-year term from June 1, 2025–May 31, 2026, and must be enrolled at one of JHU's East Baltimore, Peabody, or Homewood campuses at the time of their selection.
More information on the accountability board—including agendas, minutes, recordings of past meetings, and a list of current members—can be found on the Johns Hopkins Public Safety website.
Correction: The number of open seats was misstated in an earlier version of this article. The Hub regrets the error.
_ Editor's note: The application deadline has been extended to Oct. 24._
Tagged public safety
