The Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office is assembling a new unit to crack down on liquor laws and more routinely collaborate with the city’s liquor board.

The initiative comes out of a concern from local communities that not enough is being done to enhance public safety and enforce the city’s liquor laws in high-traffic areas such as Fells Point and Federal Hill. It’s unclear when or how many personnel will be assigned to the newly named Neighborhood Services Unit, but Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson said Wednesday its establishment is a necessary step in addressing neighborhood crime.

“We know the enforcement around liquor license establishments is something that has been a challenge for the city,” the Democrat said in a Wednesday morning press conference. “So this is a natural place for us to expand and focus on preventing those problems before they occur.”

Ferguson congratulated some of the public officials present, from Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates to Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley, for advocating for the additional partnership between the city’s liquor board and sheriff’s office.

A House bill signed into law by Gov. Wes Moore about two weeks ago called on the two offices to enter an agreement laying out the funding and personnel duties needed to bring the unit to fruition. The law goes into effect on Oct. 1.

Sheriff Sam Cogen said his office is able and willing to take on the added work. “We’ve done it before,” he said.

Cogen’s deputies already assist the liquor board by checking whether liquor sellers are complying with the rules of their license, and his cadets work on an underaged drinking task force. But this new partnership allows the sheriff’s office to fill public safety gaps left by an overstretched Baltimore police force.

“There’s very clearly some spaces where people [community members] have frustrations and solutions are coming at a slower pace,” said Assistant Sheriff of Baltimore City Nicholas Blendy, who formerly worked as deputy executive secretary for the liquor board.

While an agreement outlining the unit’s priorities hasn’t been finalized, Blendy said the sheriff’s office could help by cracking down on unlicensed liquor sellers. People peddling alcohol outside bars and restaurants without a license can often undercut the sale of liquor in licensed businesses.

It can also undermine the high value businesses pay to sell their liquor legally. The problem, Blendy said, is difficult for the liquor board alone to handle. The city’s liquor license office is tasked with monitoring the inside of licensed facilities and lacks the jurisdiction to handle what’s going on around the business.

“When your business is not operating in order, it spills out all around the perimeter,” said State Del. Stephanie Smith, who represents the 45th District, which includes East Baltimore and Northeast Baltimore.

She said holding licensees accountable for infractions will lead to more accountability for patrons. Smith recalled how a community on Monument Street stopped leaving trash near a business because the owner “will not have it.”

“This is about protecting our neighborhoods without overpolicing them,” said Sen. Mary Washington, a Baltimore Democrat. “It’s about making sure that the tools we already have are being used effectively.”