On December 29 and 30, local NPR affiliate WYPR dedicated its noon show Midday, hosted by Sheilah Kast, to OSI-Baltimore’s dynamic 2015 community fellows. On the show that aired on the 29th (which you can read about and listen to here), Kast interviewed Greg Carpenter, Dave Eassa, Brion Gill, Menes Yahuda, Meryam Bouadjemi. On the 30th (which you […]
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Baltimore launches alternative approach to drug offenders
Monday, January 04, 2016On December 24, the Baltimore Sun broke the news about OSI-Baltimore’s new grant to establish the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program in Baltimore with its front-page story, “A new tack on drug abuse” (the online headline is different). “The Baltimore Police Department, working with a local nonprofit organization, is planning an experimental program that […]
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WYPR’s On the Watch examines Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights
Thursday, December 17, 2015In the latest installment of WYPR’s series, On the Watch, reporter Mary Rose Madden looks into the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights and the common conflict between police department transparency and individual officers’ privacy rights. “We have to protect police officers and afford them due process when they are involved in a critical incident when […]
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Is Baltimore on edge? Police, school administrators, media say yes
Tuesday, December 15, 2015By Evan Serpick The jury in the trial of William Porter has begun deliberations. No doubt, it’s a case that’s been closely watched by many Baltimoreans, and any outcome will certainly be talked about and debated, as it should be. But many observers, particularly police, school administrators and some media outlets, seem intent on creating an […]
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OSI-Baltimore Response to Dr. Gregory Thornton’s Letter to BCPSS Families
Tuesday, December 15, 2015Open Society Institute-Baltimore denounces Dr. Gregory Thornton’s statement, in a letter to BCPSS families, that legitimate forms of protest like walkouts are on a par with violence and vandalism. While we don’t condone violence, we call on Dr. Thornton and BCPSS to adopt policies and practices that honor the struggle to achieve racial justice in Baltimore and that respect students’ First […]
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Listen to our Talking About Addiction event
Friday, December 11, 2015On Monday night, OSI-Baltimore hosted a Talking About Addiction event at 2640 to talk about alternative law enforcement approaches to addiction. The guests included Chief Leonard Campanello of the Gloucester, Massachusettes police department and Chief Fred Ryan of the Arlington, Massachusetts police department, who have both launched groundbreaking programs to help drug users enter treatment […]
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Health Commissioner Wen testifies about opioid epidemic before Senate committee
Thursday, December 10, 2015On Tuesday, Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen testified at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Acknowledging that the opioid epidemic is a health crisis that will take smart, creative ideas to fight, Senator Elizabeth Warren highlighted the ANGEL program in Gloucester, Massachusetts implemented by Chief of Police Leonard Campanello. In Gloucester, any […]
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Baltimore’s eviction crisis
Wednesday, December 09, 2015With nearly 7,000 Baltimore residents evicted each year and more rent court proceedings than almost any other major American city, Baltimore has an eviction crisis. A new report from the Right to Housing Alliance, organized by 2013 Community Fellow Jessica Lewis, finds that Rent Court has become little more than a debt collection service that prioritizes […]
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Anna Deavere Smith Sparks Conversations with “Notes from the Field”
Tuesday, December 08, 2015On Saturday and Sunday, Anna Deavere Smith presented the latest incarnation of her production, “Notes from the Field: Doing Time in Education, the Baltimore Chapter,” which focuses on the way the education system grooms some kids for life in the criminal justice system. Smith had performed an earlier version of “Notes” in Berkeley, but for […]
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BALT panel talks about reducing police presence in schools
Wednesday, December 02, 2015Last night at Red Emma’s, the Baltimore Action Legal Team hosted a panel on reducing the police presence in schools. The event, part of BALT’s Lawyer Up series, featured Baltimore BLOC organizer Tre Murphy, Asst. Public Defender with the Juvenile Division of the Office of the Public Defender Jenny Egan, Director of OSI-Baltimore’s Criminal and Juvenile Justice […]
