Baltimore May Need a Different Public Safety Response. It Does Not Automatically Need Another Department.
public-safety · September 15, 2026
Baltimore City has announced plans to create a new Department of Neighborhood Safety, or DNS.
Key takeaways
- Baltimore has proposed creating a Department of Neighborhood Safety to absorb MONSE and expand alternative response to selected nonviolent 911 calls.[1]
- City officials estimate roughly 22,000 annual calls could potentially be handled without traditional law enforcement.[2]
- Alternative response and creation of a new department are two separate policy decisions.
- Baltimore already has MONSE, an established violence-prevention structure with staffing, programs, and an existing budget.[3][7]
- Replacing Baltimore’s aging CAD system is a legitimate infrastructure need, but that technology investment does not by itself establish the need for a new department.[5][6]
- The public should be shown the net new cost of DNS, not merely a combined figure that includes existing functions and necessary technology upgrades.
- Baltimore should publish clear performance measures for diverted calls, response times, police hours saved, repeat calls, outcomes, and cost per response.
- Alternative response creates legitimate triage and responder-safety questions that require clear escalation protocols.
Baltimore City has announced plans to create a new Department of Neighborhood Safety, or DNS.
The idea is being presented as progress.
I am not convinced the department itself is.
Let me make something clear before this gets reduced to the usual political argument.
I support finding better ways to respond to situations that do not always require a police officer.
A person experiencing a behavioral health crisis may need a clinician.
Someone struggling with addiction may need a recovery specialist.
Certain welfare checks, nuisance calls, and nonviolent situations may be better handled by someone other than an armed police officer.
That part makes sense.
What does not automatically make sense is why Baltimore needs to create another city department to accomplish it.
That is the distinction taxpayers should be paying attention to.
Baltimore officials announced the proposed Department of Neighborhood Safety as what the city describes as a third branch of public safety and emergency services, alongside traditional police, fire, and EMS functions. The proposal would absorb the existing Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, better known as MONSE, while expanding alternative response to certain 911 calls.[1]
City officials estimate that Baltimore receives approximately 22,000 calls every year that could potentially be handled without traditional law enforcement. Those calls can include welfare checks, nuisance complaints, trespassing, and other nonviolent situations.[2]
Good.
Then build the response.
Train the people.
Fix dispatch.
Create the protocols.
Measure the results.
I am still waiting for someone to explain why that requires another department.
Baltimore Already Built MONSE
This is not a situation where Baltimore suddenly discovered neighborhood safety.
MONSE already exists.
The city has spent years building violence prevention strategies around MONSE, the Group Violence Reduction Strategy, community violence intervention, victim services, youth initiatives, and partnerships across Baltimore.
Baltimore’s own Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan describes MONSE’s work through three major pillars:
- a public health approach to violence,
- community engagement and interagency collaboration,
- and evaluation and accountability.[3]
MONSE’s own reporting shows the agency already plays a central role in community violence intervention, Safe Streets oversight, conflict mediation, and coordination of the Group Violence Reduction Strategy.[4]
The mayor has repeatedly credited MONSE and related strategies with contributing to Baltimore’s historic decline in shootings and homicides.
So here is my first question.
If the current structure has been successful, why does success require creating another department?
That is not a trick question.
Taxpayers deserve an answer.
Baltimore should be able to identify exactly what MONSE is currently prevented from doing that DNS will suddenly be able to do.
Not a slogan.
Not a press conference.
Not simply:
Better coordination.
What specific legal, operational, staffing, budgetary, or structural barrier requires creation of a new city department?
If that answer exists, show us.
Government Has a Habit of Solving Bureaucracy With More Bureaucracy
Baltimore has departments.
Baltimore has agencies.
Baltimore has mayoral offices.
Baltimore has authorities.
Baltimore has boards.
Baltimore has commissions.
Baltimore has programs.
Baltimore has partnerships.
Baltimore has consultants.
When something does not work properly, the answer cannot continually be another organizational box on the chart.
Sometimes the problem is not that government needs another department.
Sometimes existing departments simply need to work together.
That may sound simplistic, but think about what we are talking about here.
Baltimore already has police.
Baltimore already has fire and EMS.
Baltimore already has a Health Department.
Baltimore already has MONSE.
Baltimore already has 911.
Maryland already operates behavioral health crisis resources.
If a certain percentage of 911 calls should go somewhere else, redesign the dispatch process and create an alternative response unit.
Why does that unit have to become another department?
That is where this starts feeling less like modernization and more like an old government habit wearing new clothes.
Do Not Confuse a New CAD System With a Need for a New Department
Baltimore also needs to replace its aging Computer-Aided Dispatch system.
That is not controversial.
The city’s current CAD system is roughly two decades old, and Baltimore has already secured approximately $12 million in state and federal support for replacement. City officials have acknowledged that replacing it will be a major undertaking.[5]
The FY2027 budget proposal also identifies $12.4 million for CAD replacement.[6]
A modern city needs a dependable emergency dispatch system.
No argument from me.
That still does not explain why Baltimore needs DNS.
The CAD system is technology.
Alternative response is an operational strategy.
DNS is a government structure.
Those are three different things.
They should not be blended together as though approving one automatically justifies the others.
Baltimore can buy a better dispatch system without creating a new department.
Baltimore can divert appropriate calls without creating a new department.
Baltimore can hire clinicians and social workers without creating a new department.
Baltimore can expand MONSE without creating a new department.
So again:
What problem can only be solved by DNS?
Show Taxpayers the Money
Baltimore’s proposed FY2027 budget is approximately $4.9 billion, with significant spending dedicated to public safety and infrastructure.[6]
The proposal for DNS is also not being introduced from a blank financial slate.
MONSE already has a budget.
For FY2026, Baltimore’s budget documents show more than $10.6 million in General Fund spending and 31 positions associated with MONSE.[7]
That means the important budget question is not simply:
How much will DNS cost?
It is:
What will DNS cost above and beyond what taxpayers are already spending?
How much of the department will represent truly new spending?
How many new executive positions?
How many deputy directors?
How many administrators?
How many supervisors?
How many employees will simply transfer from MONSE?
What services will actually be new?
What functions are being duplicated?
What happens when startup or grant funding ends?
What will this structure cost five years from now?
What property, office space, vehicles, technology, pensions, benefits, procurement, contracts, and administrative support will come with it?
Those are not hostile questions.
Those are basic questions when government is spending somebody else’s money.
I Want to Know What Happens to the 22,000 Calls
The city says approximately 22,000 calls could potentially receive a different response.
Great.
That gives us something measurable.
If DNS is created, taxpayers should know exactly what success looks like.
How many of those calls were actually diverted?
How many ultimately required police anyway?
How many required EMS?
What was the average response time?
How many resulted in hospitalization?
How many resulted in arrest?
How many people received follow-up services?
How many repeat calls came from the same individuals?
How many police officer hours were actually freed?
What did Baltimore do with those freed hours?
Did police response times improve?
Did overtime decline?
Did patrol availability increase?
Did residents receive better outcomes?
What was the cost per diverted call?
Government should love those questions if the program works.
What Happens When the Call Is Wrong?
This part deserves serious attention.
A 911 dispatcher does not always know exactly what is happening.
A welfare check can become violent.
A behavioral health call can involve a weapon.
An intoxicated person can actually be experiencing a medical emergency.
A nuisance complaint can turn into an assault.
Someone calling 911 may leave out important information.
Alternative response can absolutely work, but it requires excellent triage.
Baltimore officials have indicated that the proposed system would send trained civilians to selected nonviolent calls and that qualifying calls would be screened for factors such as weapons and immediate danger.[2]
That is exactly where the operational details matter.
When does DNS respond alone?
When does police respond with DNS?
When does EMS respond?
Who has authority to escalate?
What happens when the original classification is wrong?
How quickly can law enforcement get there?
What training do civilian responders receive for rapidly changing scenes?
Those are the questions I want answered.
Not just who gets the new department logo.
Baltimore Has Another Obligation Here
There is an important piece of context that should not be ignored.
Baltimore’s federal consent decree requires the city to develop a 24-hour behavioral health and alternative-response structure for appropriate calls.
City officials have pointed to DNS as a way to move closer to meeting that responsibility.[1][2]
That strengthens the case for building alternative response.
It still does not automatically settle the organizational question.
The consent decree can explain why Baltimore needs the capability.
It does not by itself answer why that capability must become a standalone department.
Those are different questions.
That distinction deserves more attention.
Departments Are Easy to Create and Hard to Eliminate
This may be the most important issue.
Once Baltimore creates a department, it begins creating an institution.
Institutions develop directors.
Deputy directors.
Administrators.
Supervisors.
Job classifications.
Budgets.
Contracts.
Facilities.
Vehicles.
Procurement needs.
Grant programs.
Legislative authority.
Political constituencies.
After several years, the original question can change.
Instead of asking whether the department is still necessary, government starts asking how to preserve the department.
That is why taxpayers should demand evidence before government permanently expands itself.
I would have done this differently.
Keep MONSE.
Create an Alternative Emergency Response Division.
Modernize CAD.
Build the 911 triage protocols.
Hire the clinicians and specialized responders.
Run it.
Measure it.
Publish the numbers.
Give it two or three years.
Then come back to taxpayers and say:
Here is what worked.
Here is what did not.
Here is how many police hours we saved.
Here is how many people received a better response.
Here is what it cost.
Here is why the current organizational structure cannot continue handling it.
Now we believe Baltimore needs a department.
That would make sense to me.
What Baltimore appears to be doing instead is creating the institution first and proving the need for the institution afterward.
That feels backwards.
This Is Not About Being Against Progress
There will probably be people who hear criticism of DNS and immediately assume someone opposes mental health response, community violence intervention, or police reform.
That is lazy.
We should be able to hold two ideas at the same time.
Baltimore may absolutely need a different way to respond to certain 911 calls.
Baltimore may also not need another department to do it.
Those statements do not conflict.
Actually, demanding that government find the leanest, most effective way to deliver a service should be part of reform.
Real innovation is not measured by how many agencies we create.
It is measured by whether residents receive better service.
It is measured by whether employees can do their jobs better.
It is measured by outcomes.
It is measured by cost.
It is measured by whether taxpayers receive more value from the government they are already paying for.
Baltimore says it wants to think differently about public safety.
Good.
Then think differently about government too.
Do not automatically build another department because a new approach needs a home.
Use what already exists.
Make agencies communicate.
Remove barriers.
Fix the technology.
Measure performance.
Expand what works.
Eliminate what does not.
That would look like progress.
Creating another layer of government before proving another layer of government is necessary?
That looks a lot more familiar.
And Baltimore taxpayers have seen familiar before.
Sources
[1] Baltimore Brew, "City announces new agency to promote alternative public safety approaches," September 14, 2026.
https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2026/09/14/city-announces-new-agency-to-promote-alternative-public-safety-approaches/
[2] The Baltimore Banner, "New Baltimore agency would divert more 911 calls away from police," September 14, 2026.
https://www.thebanner.com/politics-power/local-government/baltimore-monse-neighborhood-safety-911-calls-R5ZCVA6EBVG4VDMQPEAU7W5XUE/
[3] Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, Baltimore City Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan.
https://monse.baltimorecity.gov/sites/default/files/VPP-Print_.pdf
[4] Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, Quarterly Public Report, FY2025 Q2.
https://monse.baltimorecity.gov/sites/default/files/MONSE%20Quarterly%20Public%20Report%20-%20Q2%20FY25_0.pdf
[5] CBS News Baltimore, "A mom says failures in Baltimore's 911 system led to her son's death. City leaders are promising a fix," April 30, 2026.
https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/911-cad-system-outages-fixes-funding-maryland/
[6] CBS News Baltimore, "What's in Baltimore's $4.9 billion 2027 budget proposal?"
https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/2027-budget-proposal-economic-growth-safety-education-maryland/
[7] Baltimore City Bureau of the Budget and Management Research, Fiscal 2026 Agency Detail, Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.
https://bbmr.baltimorecity.gov/sites/default/files/upload/FY2026%20Agency%20Detail%20Volume%20II.pdf
Frequently asked questions
- What is Baltimore’s proposed Department of Neighborhood Safety?
- The proposal would create a new city department that incorporates MONSE and expands Baltimore’s use of civilian and behavioral-health-oriented responders for selected nonviolent 911 calls.[1][2]
- Is Baltimore eliminating police response?
- No. The proposal is intended to create another response option for calls officials believe do not require traditional law enforcement. Police, fire, and EMS would continue responding to situations requiring their services.
- How many calls could potentially be diverted?
- City officials estimate approximately 22,000 calls per year could be appropriate for alternative response.[2]
- Does Baltimore already have a neighborhood safety office?
- Yes. MONSE already leads major violence-prevention initiatives, including coordination of the Group Violence Reduction Strategy and community violence intervention work.[3][4]
- How much does MONSE currently cost?
- Baltimore’s FY2026 Agency Detail budget shows more than $10.6 million in General Fund spending and 31 positions for MONSE.[7]
- Does Baltimore need a new CAD system?
- Yes. City officials have publicly acknowledged that the approximately 20-year-old Computer-Aided Dispatch system needs replacement, and funding has been identified for that effort.[5][6]
- Does replacing CAD require creating DNS?
- Not inherently. CAD replacement is a technology and emergency-dispatch infrastructure project. Creating DNS is an organizational decision. The city should demonstrate why one requires the other.
- Does the federal consent decree require alternative response?
- Baltimore officials say the federal consent decree requires development of a 24-hour behavioral-health and civilian alternative-response system for appropriate calls.[1][2] That provides a strong argument for the capability. The separate question is what organizational structure is necessary to deliver it.
- What should taxpayers ask before approving DNS?
- The most important question may be the simplest:
- What can Baltimore accomplish through DNS that it cannot accomplish by expanding and restructuring the systems it already has?
- If city government can answer that clearly, with costs and measurable outcomes attached, the argument for DNS becomes much stronger. If it cannot, taxpayers should keep asking. ---
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