Baltimore Council Approves New Safety Agency to Handle Low-Risk 911 Calls

Baltimore City Council members advanced a plan on Monday to establish a new Department of Neighborhood Safety that will respond to specific 911 calls without involving police officers. The council passed two near-unanimous votes, clearing the legislation for a final vote scheduled for early next month. The move formally separates crisis response from law enforcement by merging existing diversion efforts with new staffing. The proposal was jointly introduced last month by Mayor Brandon Scott and Council President Zeke Cohen.

The new department will absorb the current Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement. Its primary function is to handle non-life-threatening incidents, including welfare checks and nuisance reports. When a call involves no weapons and occurs in a safe environment, a team consisting of a social worker and a peer specialist will respond. The peer specialist is an unlicensed individual with relevant life experience. Officials plan for these teams to operate around the clock once the system is fully up and running.

Councilman Mark Conway cast the only vote against the plan. He argued that the administration moved too quickly without producing a final budget. Conway supported the general goal of the legislation but expressed concern over the city’s financial readiness. “I fear we’ll trip and fall and saddle the city with expectations we’re not fully prepared to meet,” Conway said. He emphasized that the council’s duty includes managing the budget, not just generating ideas.

City finance officials reviewed the bill and identified a potentially large fiscal impact. The total cost depends on staffing levels and the volume of calls the new agency handles. The city’s deputy director of finance noted in a memo that the expense is not yet fixed. Mayor Scott’s staff intend to launch the department using $15 million in restitution funds from opioid manufacturer settlements. However, the finance memo warned that these funds are projected to run out by 2032. That timeline could force programs to end abruptly or shift to a different funding source.

Council President Zeke Cohen stated he wants to hire a department director before releasing a final cost estimate to the public. Cohen and mayoral staff visited Durham, North Carolina, to observe its 911 diversion program before drafting the local bill. Durham currently diverts 5% of 911 calls from police, while Baltimore diverts approximately 1.5%. Cohen said he wants the new director involved in the financial analysis before any numbers are published.

Other council members pushed back on Conway’s claim that the bill was rushed. Councilwoman Odette Ramos noted that the council held multiple hearings on crisis response last year following several police-involved deaths of residents in mental health crises. “I don’t feel this has been rushed,” Ramos said. “This is the cap on all of the work that has been done.” Council Vice President Sharon Green Middleton, the longest-serving member, agreed that the council has pursued wrap-around services for years.

Letitia Dzirasa, the deputy mayor for equity, health and human services, said she expects to submit a preliminary budget to the council in the coming weeks. Dzirasa anticipates the city will phase in the new 911 diversion efforts similarly to the Group Violence Reduction Strategy. Certain call types may be diverted first, and the city may pilot the program in specific areas before expanding it citywide.