Volume #2, Issue #1

WELCOME TO THE NEWSLETTER

SHOWCASED POLICE STATIONS

From the State of Maryland

Link: Click on Station Name

Taneytown Police Department

Agency / Formed: Taneytown Police Department / The Department was unable to provide a formation date
Type / Category / Size: Police Department / Town / Small
Address / Telephone: 120 E Baltimore Pike / 410-756-5281
Website: taneytownmd.gov
Sworn Officers: 12
Jurisdiction Population: 7,300
Jurisdiction Size: 3.16 Square Miles
Interesting Fact: The Station was previously used as Train Station
Picture Taken By: policestationpictures.com

Oxford Police Department

Agency / Formed: Oxford Police Department / The Department was unable to provide a formation date
Type / Category / Size: Police Department / Town / Small
Address / Telephone: 101 Market Street / 410-226-5650
Website: oxfordmd.net
Sworn Officers: 3
Jurisdiction Population: 611
Jurisdiction Size: 0.84 Square Miles
Interesting Fact: The Port of Oxford was a major shipping center/port of call for the British Fleet prior to the end of the American Revolution
Picture Taken By: policestationpictures.com

Annapolis Police Department

Agency / Formed: City of Annapolis Police Department / 1867
Type / Category / Size: Police Department / City / Medium
Address / Telephone: 199 Taylor Avenue / 410-268-9000
Website: cityofannapolis.md
Sworn Officers: 131
City of Sonoma Population: 41,000
County Jurisdiction Size: 7.2 Square Miles
Interesting Fact: The Department is a CALEA Accredited Agency
Interesting Fast: Beneath the Streets of “old” Annapolis is a tunnel system used to transport articles and food. One former tunnel opening is in the basement of the “former” Farmers Bank of Maryland which was the first Bank in the USA to offer 3% interest on account in the very early 1800s
Interesting Fact: The “OLD THREE MILE OAK TREE” is 3 miles from the State Capitol. The tree marks the location where 18 century traveling dignitaries stayed pending approval to enter the City. George Washington stayed at the site pending approval from the newly formed US Congress to enter the City to submit his resignation as General of the Continental Army after the American Revolution had been won.
Picture Taken By: policestationpictures.com

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> State Stats

– General

Population: 6.1 Million
Size: 12,407 Square Miles (Includes Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay)

– Agencies

Total Police Agencies: 154
State: 8
County Sheriff Offices: 22
County Police Departments: 6
Municipal: 83
University & College: 26
Fire Departments (Fire Marshalls): 7
Railroad: 1
Hospital: 5

– Employees

Number of Total State Sworn Officers: 16,000 (Authorized Estimate)
Largest Municipal Agencies (Sworn Personnel): City of Baltimore Police Department
Largest County Agency (Sworn Personnel): Baltimore County Police Department

> Judicial

The Maryland Court System is made up of: (In descending order) 1. Supreme Court, 2. Appellate Court, 3. Circuit Court, and 4. District Court

The Supreme Court, established in 1776 as the Court of Appeals, is the highest court in the State and hears cases involving the State Constitution and appeal cases from the Appellate Court.
The Appellate Court hears appeal cases referred from the Circuit Court.
The Circuit Court is a Trail Court for Civil and Serious Criminal Cases (Felonies).
The District Court is a Trail Court for Some Felonies, Misdemeanors, and Traffic.

> Legislative

2023 – New Maryland Laws

Cannabis Reform, Renaming Chapter 255 – Renamed the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission to be the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission; establishing the Maryland Cannabis Administration as an independent unit of State government; establishing a regulatory and licensing system for adult-use cannabis; imposing the sales and use tax on the sale of adult-use cannabis at 9%; requiring the Administration, on or before July 1 2023, to convert medical cannabis licenses to licenses to operate a medical and adult-use cannabis business. Read More
Criminal Law, Sexual Crimes, Repeal of Spousal Defense / SB0033 & HB0004 – Repealing a certain prohibition on prosecuting a person for rape or a certain sexual offense against a victim who was the person’s legal spouse at the time of the alleged rape or sexual offense. Read More

> Law Enforcement

Historical Highlights of Law Enforcement in the State of Maryland. Copied from “History of Maryland Law Enforcement”

– Colonial Maryland

Under English common law, every person had an active responsibility for keeping the peace. This was a vital principle in colonial Maryland, a fledgling society with no police or peace officers. The responsibility included crime prevention through vigilance and the apprehension of suspected lawbreakers by groups of persons raising the “hue and cry” or the more official “posse comitatus.” Persons whose previous behavior indicated that they were at risk of breaking the peace could be taken before a local court or magistrate and bound over to keep the peace, thereby, in theory, preventing crime. Adapted from the British legal system were the positions of sheriff and constable, officers of the county court who also enforced the law. Sheriffs and constables had no jurisdiction outside their own county. As population increased, county and municipal police departments were created to meet local needs.

– Baltimore City Police Force

The first State agency to exercise police powers was the Baltimore City Police Force. Established in 1867 under a Board of Police Commissioners, the Force was elected by the General Assembly (Chapter 367, Acts of 1867). Baltimore had been developing a police force since the formation in 1784 of a night watch “very necessary to prevent fires, burglaries, and other outrages and disorders” (Chapter 69, Acts of 1784). Its police force, from 1867, was governed by a State board although jurisdiction was limited to the City. From 1900 to 1920, the Board of Police Commissioners was appointed by the Governor. After 1920, a single Police Commissioner of Baltimore City was chosen and also served on the Governor’s Advisory Council. The Baltimore City Police Department remained under State governance until 1978, when the Mayor began to appoint the Police Commissioner, subject to confirmation by the City Council (Chapter 920, Acts of 1976).

– State Detective Force

In 1909, the Board of Police Commissioners of Baltimore City urged the creation of a State detective force since the Governor, the Fire Marshal, and State’s Attorneys in the counties frequently sought help from Baltimore City’s expert investigators. The first tentative step towards a statewide police force, however, was taken in 1914 as a corps of motorcycle officers under the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles began to enforce motor vehicle laws throughout Maryland (Chapter 564, Acts of 1914).

– State Police Force

When a crime wave struck Maryland after World War I, the need for statewide enforcement of criminal law became critical. The Governor, the Police Commissioner of Baltimore City, and the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles came up with a plan for a State Police Force under the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. Former servicemen were recruited and the first training camp was conducted early in 1921. By 1922, the force of motorcycle deputies had statewide jurisdiction over criminal cases through deputization by the county sheriffs. The force was supported by a plainclothes investigative department and was known as the State Police Force.

– Maryland State Police

In 1935, the Maryland State Police was established as a separate unit of State government (Chapter 303, Acts of 1935). The new agency was funded out of revenues from the Department of Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. It was granted additional statewide police powers to enforce fish, oyster, game and other conservation laws and maintain a training school. The Maryland State Police were made part of the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services in 1970.

> Professionalism

Maryland Police Accountability Act of 2021

From Overview of Police Reform Regulations:

The Maryland Police Accountability Act of 2021 became effective July 1, 2022. The Act establishes requirements for police accountability and discipline, as well establishing other requirements for police officers to include mental health and physical agility assessments. As the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission (MPTSC) is establishing guidelines and promulgating regulations to implement the requirements of the legislation, many inquiries have been received related to different aspects of the legislation.