Baltimore’s proposed Department of Neighborhood Safety has passed the City Council and is now listed as “Before the Mayor.” The department is intended to work alongside BCFD/EMS and police by sending specially trained responders to selected behavioral-health crises, welfare checks, homelessness-related calls, and other nonviolent 911 requests.
Baltimore Firefighters Local 734 supports finding a more appropriate response for people experiencing a crisis, but the union has raised important operational questions. Baltimore must still explain how these calls will be screened, when BCFD or EMS will be dispatched, how the new responders will communicate with the existing 911 system, and whether diverting calls will provide meaningful relief to an already heavily used fire and emergency-medical system. There is also the question of permanent funding once the initial opioid-restitution and federal money has been spent.
This could become a valuable addition to Baltimore’s public-safety system, but approval of the department is only the beginning. We will follow the mayoral signing, appointment of its leadership, staffing and training plans, dispatch procedures, medical-escalation policies, recurring budget, and any further statements from Locals 734 and 964.