FIRST DEPLOYMENT OF COMBINED STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT RESOURCES TO OCCUR THIS WEEKEND IN FREDERICK CO.

(PIKESVILLE, MD) –As part of the state’s multi-agency support to federal and local law enforcement in Frederick County during the G-8 Summit, a new team of state public safety officers will be working together for the first time to provide police services.

Police officers who are part of the new State Law Enforcement Coordinating Council will be in Frederick County to work with state troopers, county deputies and municipal police officers from May 17-20. Allied state law enforcement officers will work traffic posts and patrol the corridor between Thurmont and Frederick to provide police services if needed. Police officers who are a part of this first deployment will be from the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, University of Maryland Department of Public Safety, Natural Resources Police, and the Maryland Capitol Police.

On February 29, 2012, Governor Martin O’Malley signed an Executive Order establishing the State Law Enforcement Coordinating Council, in an ongoing effort to continue to protect citizens, reduce crime, and increase the efficiency of Maryland’s state law enforcement resources. The state law enforcement agencies on the Council include the: Maryland State Police, Maryland Transportation Authority Police, Mass Transit Administration Police, Natural Resources Police, University of Maryland Department of Public Safety and all police departments of the constituent institutions of the University System of Maryland, Morgan State University Police, and the Maryland Capitol Police. The Executive Order grants police officers from member agencies statewide police powers when operating outside their specific jurisdiction under the authority of the Council.

This weekend will be the first activation of the State Law Enforcement Coordinating Council. Officers who are a part of the Council recently completed training sessions with the Maryland State Police Special Operations Division on civil disturbance response in preparation for duty this weekend in Frederick County. Officers from Council agencies can also be deployed to respond to civil disturbances or natural disasters throughout the state.

The Council is chaired by Colonel Marcus Brown, Secretary of the Department of State Police. The Council has two deputy chairs who are Chief David Mitchell of the University of Maryland Department of Public Safety and Colonel George Johnson, Superintendent of the Maryland Natural Resources Police. An advisory group that includes the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, the Maryland Police Training Commission, the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security, and the Maryland Highway Safety Office will assist the Council’s executive members.

Citizens in Frederick County or who may be visiting the area this weekend are reminded to check the county’s G-8 Summit website at www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/G8Frederick, for the latest information related to the event. Information is also available on Facebook at www.facebook.com/G8SummitFrederickCounty, or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/G8Frederick.