In the Nov. 5 election, Baltimore City residents voted overwhelmingly to pass Question E, taking the final step in returning control of the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) to the city — something it has not had since the 1860s. Advocates hope the decades-long struggle to regain control over its police department will improve police accountability.More than three-quarters of Baltimore City voters approved the ballot question. The Campaign for Justice, Safety, and Jobs (CJSJ), a coalition of organizations working to reform the justice system and address other issues, considers Question E’s majority support a significant victory in the movement for police accountability and legislative control for the citizens of Baltimore City. The state of Maryland took charge of the BPD in the 1860s because the violently anti-immigrant “Know-Nothing Party” controlled it. BPD remained in state hands until the modern era, when Baltimoreans began to demand jurisdiction over the organization that policed them and for which their tax dollars paid.“The fight for local control has been a battle steeped in racial discrimination,” said Donna Brown, project manager for the Citizens Policing Project which is part of the CJSJ coalition. “We fully understood the criticism from legislators who didn’t think that we, as a city, were capable of handling our own police department; yet held no issue with the impact of over policing, police brutality and racist policies that created generational harms in Black and Brown communities. This journey has been an arduous one. While we take a moment to claim victory, the work will continue.”Working with groups like ACLU of Maryland, Jews United for Justice, and other community advocates, CJSJ have spent over a decade holding community conversations and civil engagement education sessions, mobilized volunteers to contact nearly 40,000 Baltimoreans, and engaged voters to make their voices heard at the ballot box. The city of Baltimore had already been granted regulatory and legislative powers over the BPD by the General Assembly (SB894). Question E gives the mayor and city council “full power and authority” to exercise “police power.”“We are proud that years of collective advocacy and organizing have finally brought local control of the Baltimore Police Department to fruition,” said Lorena Magdalena Diaz, campaign strategist at ACLU of Maryland. “This shift is a powerful step forward, especially as we confront the imminent threat of aggressive anti-immigrant policies in a second Trump administration-policies that would deliberately tear families apart and further devastate our communities. During the most recent federal administrations, Baltimore City has remained steadfast in establishing policies that protect its immigrant residents. With local control of BPD a reality, there is a pathway to ensure that the safety of ALL city residents is prioritized by our publicly-owned institutions and elected officials.”Local control of the BPD has impact beyond the safety and protection of immigrants living within the city’s boundaries during a second Trump term. Advocates hope it could potentially protect Black residents from racial profiling and police brutality by giving Baltimore City officials power to determine policies and protocols to which BPD officers must adhere.Baltimore’s City Council will now be able to pass bills to address issues in our policing system, including but not limited to police conduct; tactics and use of force; data and reporting; and technology and weapons oversight.BPD does not appear to be concerned that the shift in control from state to city over the department will disrupt their operations. In a statement emailed to Baltimore Fishbowl, a spokesperson for BPD wrote:The Baltimore Police Department believes the transition to Local Control will be seamless and will not impact our day-to-day operations. The primary change is that certain future decisions will now come from the City government rather than the State. While the full impact of this shift remains to be seen, we are confident in our ability to adapt and continue serving the residents of Baltimore effectively.