Baltimore Police Department releases equity policy as part of consent decree
BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Police Department's Equity Office has released its first equity policy, Policy 1745.
The department said the policy is designed to uphold "principles and practices of Diversity, Equality, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Anti-racism," or DEIA, within its culture and operations.
Other principles of the policy include emphasizing routine self-assessments within the department, maintaining a commitment to human rights, and removing existing biases, disparities, and inequities within the department and otherwise.
"It ensures that DEIA becomes an integral part of the Department's culture by delivering training, advising agency leadership, assisting with strategic plans, working closely with BPD's Equal Opportunity and Diversity Section (EODS), reviewing and writing policy, and working closely with community partners to ensure services are absent of bias, Racism, anti-Semitism, anti-religious and other marginalizing behaviors," the policy reads.
The department said the policy was written in collaboration with the Department of Justice and is in accordance with consent decree requirements.
The requirement made the department one of the first law enforcement agencies in the country to introduce an equity policy.
Baltimore City, the BPD and the DOJ entered a federal consent decree in 2017 after the uprising following Freddie Gray's death.
The decree mandates an array of improvements and reforms within the police department. After the uprising, a scathing federal report showed that officers routinely violated citizens' rights - and in some cases, they did it while investigators were observing their actions.
At the most recent consent decree hearing, Judge James Bredar expressed concern about violence in the city and "unsustainable" police staffing shortages.
You can read the complete Equity Policy below.
