Contact: Evan Serpick, OSI-Baltimore, 410-234-1091 T.J. Smith, BPD, 410-396-2012 Organizational Development Advisor and Social Justice and Equity Advisor will help examine and reform department culture BALTIMORE – The Open Society Institute-Baltimore (OSI) has provided a grant of $300,000 for the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) to establish two new staff positions that respond to Commissioner Kevin […]
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OSI Launches Safe City Baltimore fund to support immigrants
Wednesday, April 19, 2017OSI-Baltimore to Launch SAFE CITY BALTIMORE: An Immigrant Education and Defense Fund Fund will support local communities threatened by Executive Orders BALTIMORE – On Thursday, April 20th, Open Society Institute-Baltimore (OSI) will host a press conference to announce SAFE CITY BALTIMORE: An Immigrant Education and Defense Fund, established in collaboration with the Mayor’s […]
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OSI-Baltimore Statement on the Request to Delay the Baltimore Consent Decree Hearing
Tuesday, April 04, 2017Statement of the Open Society Institute-Baltimore on the U.S. Department of Justice’s Request to Delay the Baltimore Consent Decree Hearing It is irresponsible for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Trump Administration to call into question the work product of key parties to the Baltimore Consent Decree and to seek to undo a […]
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New Survey: Marylanders Want to End the Cash Bail System
Wednesday, November 16, 2016Likely voters overwhelmingly support decisions based on risk assessment instead of economic status BALTIMORE – A new survey prepared by the Pretrial Justice Institute, with funding from Open Society Institute-Baltimore finds that 70 percent of likely voters favor using risk assessments as the determining factor for keeping someone in jail before trial, rather than their ability to […]
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OSI Announces New Community Fellows, Releases Network Analysis
Wednesday, November 09, 2016This morning, OSI-Baltimore announced its 19th cohort of Community Fellows. The new Fellows will each receive $60,000 over 18 months to support local projects they designed to address problems in Baltimore’s underserved communities. The 10 new Fellows include established activists, educators, and artists, and the proposed projects focus on a wide range of issues, including […]
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OSI and Health Department Release Brief on Baltimore’s Response to Overdose Epidemic
Wednesday, August 31, 2016OSI-Baltimore and Baltimore Health Department Announce Release of a New Brief, “Baltimore’s Response to the Overdose Epidemic” August 31, 2016 Media Advisory Evan Serpick, OSI-Baltimore Evan.Serpick@opensocietyfoundations.org 410-234-1091 Michelle Mendes, Baltimore City Health Department Michelle.Mendes@baltimorecity.gov 443-862-0891 As we mark International Overdose Awareness Day (overdoseday.com), Open Society Institute-Baltimore and the Baltimore City Health Department are proud to announce […]
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OSI-Baltimore Statement on the Findings of the Justice Department’s Investigation of the Baltimore Police Department
Wednesday, August 10, 2016Media Advisory Contact Evan Serpick 410-234-1091 Today the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the findings of its investigation into the “patterns or practice” of the Baltimore Police Department (BPD), launched in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray. The report concludes that “there is reasonable cause to believe that BPD engages in a […]
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Second #VoteBmore Mayoral Primary Forum Will Focus on Criminal Justice
Thursday, March 10, 2016CONTACT: Evan Serpick 410-234-1091 BALTIMORE – Next Wednesday, March 16 at Union Baptist Church in West Baltimore, Open Society Institute-Baltimore (OSI), Associated Black Charities (ABC) and Baltimore City Paper will hold the second of two mayoral primary forums. This forum will focus on issues related to the criminal justice system, including mass incarceration, school police, the public […]
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Statement on School Police
Wednesday, March 02, 2016CONTACT: Evan Serpick 443-909-7365 Statement by the Maryland Coalition to Reform School Discipline about Baltimore School Police in light of incident at REACH! Partnership School BALTIMORE (March 2, 2016) – Like much of the Baltimore community, we were deeply disturbed by a video that recently emerged showing a uniformed Baltimore School Police (BSP) officer repeatedly slapping and […]
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THIS WEEK: #VoteBmore Mayoral Primary Forums to Draw Top Candidates
Monday, February 22, 2016MEDIA ADVISORY February 22, 2016 CONTACT: Evan Serpick 410-234-1091 BALTIMORE – On Wednesday at Pleasant Hope Baptist Church in Belvedere, Open Society Institute-Baltimore (OSI), Associated Black Charities (ABC) and Baltimore City Paper will hold the first of two mayoral primary forums. All of the candidates competing in primary races have been invited, including Democrats, Republicans, […]