The Baltimore City Council passed legislation Monday to create the Department of Neighborhood Safety, a third branch of public safety that will change how 911 calls are handled in Baltimore City.
“No one should lose their life to a mental health crisis,” Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen said in a statement. “With the passage of this legislation, we’re building a new public safety department that sends Baltimoreans the right help when they need it most.”
The bill passed with a 12-1 vote and will now head to the mayor’s desk.
Under the new department, 911 dispatchers will be able to refer a licensed clinician to those experiencing a mental health emergency, the Mayor’s Office said in a statement.
The push for an improved response to nonviolent 911 calls follows a series of fatal police shootings in 2025 involving Baltimore City residents experiencing mental distress. One of those killed was 70-year-old Pytorcarcha Brooks, who barricaded herself inside her home during a mental health crisis.
“After we lost Ms. Pytorcarcha Brooks in June of last year, this council asked hard questions. Why weren’t calls like these receiving a mental health crisis response?” Cohen said.
The city currently operates a 911 diversion program through Behavioral Health System Baltimore. The program triages mental health-related 911 calls to 988, Baltimore’s current crisis hotline.
“A non-law enforcement response to 911 calls, like alternative emergency response teams, brings Baltimore a step closer to providing people in distress the right help anywhere, anytime,” said BHSB Vice President Adrienne Breidenstine in a statement.
The formation of the department will cost $16 million and serve an estimated 22,000 calls per year, according to officials. The expanded resources will also provide continued mental health services to residents in need.
“Alternative response will also include creation of care continuity teams, which will include peers and social workers that will provide case management support following a resident’s engagement with the community-based response team,” the Mayor’s Office said.
The new department will absorb the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, an agency formed by Mayor Brandon Scott in 2020 that aims to address gun violence by working with community members and treating gun violence as a public health issue. Stefanie Mavronis, the director of MONSE, will continue in her role within DNS.
A nationwide search will be conducted for an executive director of the new department, who will work alongside Mavronis, the Mayor’s Office said.
Once an executive director is hired, the Mayor’s office hopes to have DNS operational within the year.
