Johns Hopkins still wants private cops despite deep opposition and falling campus crime

When outrage over George Floyd’s murder rippled through the country two-and-a-half years ago, the Johns Hopkins University had a problem. The school had been pushing to start an armed, private police force to protect its Baltimore campuses, and the already controversial proposal was suddenly even more toxic. So Ron Daniels, the university president, put the idea on hold as he vowed to reimagine campus safety in the wake of a nationwide reckoning over race and policing. But instead of a turning point, it was only an intermission. Hopkins revived plans for the force earlier this year and announced that it still intends to hire 100 officers to patrol its city properties, even though the surge in campus crime that prompted the original plan has receded, according to an analysis by The Baltimore Banner.