Activist networks, lawmakers, and the media have amplified calls to reform, defund, and disband police departments across the country after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd on May 25, 2020, by kneeling on his neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. The egregiousness of Floyd’s death, and the undeniability of the accompanying video evidence, have forced many to grapple with the inherent nature of racist and punitive police practices, and the essential necessity of large-scale reform and abolition. Some social service providers and recipients nationwide have used this opportunity to focus specifically on removing police from coordinated municipal responses to so-called crisis situations, citing the historic failure of American governments, agencies, and organizations to appropriately acknowledge and address sources of prolonged and acute stress.
The Baltimore chapter of the Social Welfare Action Alliance took a stand in support of removing police from mental health crisis response in an op-ed published in the Baltimore Sun on July 7, 2020, less than a week after a BPD officer shot and critically injured Ricky Walker, Jr., a man whose family member had called for help on his behalf. This shooting further crystalised the need for discrete policy changes to decriminalize the lived experience of crisis. In the days following this incident, a representative from the city’s behavioral health authority (BHSB) referred to the current system–which received 13,000 behavioral health crisis calls in fiscal year 2018–as “a total failure.”
Awareness of the structural dangers of the current system isn’t new. In Baltimore City, the Consent Decree agreement has framed city budgetary allotments and police reform efforts since its adoption in 2017; an independent analysis conducted as part of the Consent Decree highlighted gaps in the local behavioral health system that agencies have committed to remedy by limiting police involvement. Simultaneously, a committee within the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services established by statute last year is charged with developing and implementing a “crisis intervention model program” to be adapted across the state.
In advance of the 2021 session of the Maryland General Assembly, Delegate Sheila Ruth of Baltimore County invited SWAA members to meet and identify changes to state law that would enable appropriate crisis intervention among regional agencies. SWAA members also sought input from grassroots groups who have long been mobilizing for legislative action to affect police power and accountability, and who are pushing a sweeping slate of reforms this year. With the groundwork laid by our radical accomplices, and thanks to the connections cultivated by our members, we now have an opportunity to change state law by passing HB 0537, sponsored by Del. Ruth, and SB 0398, sponsored by Sen. Jill Carter.
The changes proposed by this bill are necessary to a comprehensive overhaul of mental health crisis intervention in Maryland and pave the way for a community-based crisis response. This bill addresses the law regarding petitions for the emergency evaluation of an individual deemed to be a danger to themself or others, making it optional to involve law enforcement when filing an emergency petition (EP). Under current state law, law enforcement must be involved in these circumstances, and officers hold the responsibility for transporting a person in crisis to the hospital emergency department. Because of this requirement, the person is handcuffed while in transit. We must begin to reduce the traumatic effects of crisis by passing this bill.
Take action now to decriminalize crisis in Maryland:
- Contact your elected representatives in the House and Senate by phone or email and demand they decriminalize crisis by supporting these bills. The Senate Finance Committee will be the first to hear this bill on 2/9.
- If your experience has been impacted by the current law, write testimony in support of these bills. The House will hear HB 537 on 2/16; testimony must be submitted by 2/12. Here’s our guide for submitting testimony.
- Add your name to our sign-on letter indicating your support for this bill.
- Stay in touch with SWAA Baltimore by joining an Activism Committee meeting: email antiracistsocialworkbaltimore@gmail.com for more information.
- Follow SWAA Baltimore on Twitter and Instagram