The U.S. Department of Justice officially opened an investigation into the Baltimore Police Department on Friday, indicating that the national scrutiny of local law enforcement won’t end anytime soon, the New York Times reports. To support the effort to improve police-community relations, the Open Society Institute launched a new fund.
The Baltimore Justice Fund will put 100 percent of donations “solutions that address harmful policies and practices in Baltimore, as well as the root causes of inequities,” according to a statement.
“At OSI-Baltimore, we know that it is impossible to address issues of injustice without also addressing the structural inequalities that hold too many of our residents in poverty and block opportunity,” said OSI-Baltimore founder Diana Morris. “And we know that there is a growing number of people, in Baltimore and beyond, who want to join us in addressing these root causes to bring about real and lasting solutions. By setting up the Baltimore Justice Fund, we seek to widen the ways in which people can get involved in the city’s future, as well as provide resources to deepen our collective work.”
More information is available at the OSI-Baltimore website.
