Governor Hogan Announces Supplemental Budget Supporting Maryland State Police

Actions Will Provide Funding For 100 New Troopers, Reopen Annapolis Barrack

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Today at a swearing-in ceremony for Colonel William M. Pallozzi as superintendent of the Maryland State Police, Governor Hogan announced the administration’s plan to introduce a second supplemental budget, which, in part, will add funding for 100 new Maryland State Police troopers and reopen the barrack in Annapolis.

The announcement reaffirms the Hogan administration’s commitment to making sure that the Maryland State Police remains among the most effective, trusted, and respected police forces in the United States.

The supplemental budget will provide an additional $6.8 million to recruit, train, and equip 100 new troopers. These troopers will be added through two classes, the first of which is scheduled for graduation this year. It will also provide an additional $1.4 million to reopen the Maryland State Police “Barrack J” in Annapolis that was closed by the previous administration in 2008. The governor has instructed Colonel Pallozzi to begin the process of restoring “Barrack J” to an operational state within the next few months.

“I am honored to watch Colonel Pallozzi be sworn in as the next superintendent of the Maryland State Police,” said Governor Hogan. “He’s a man of experience and integrity, and under his leadership, the Maryland State Police will now be able to employ the full range of their law enforcement capabilities and develop a more unified approach with their local and federal counterparts. It is our duty to provide the State Police with the manpower and resources they need to do their jobs and protect the people of Maryland. By reopening the Annapolis barrack and increasing the number of Maryland state troopers, we will have a greater police presence on our roadways and in our local communities.”

Currently, the authorized size of the Maryland State Police is 1,556 men and women in uniform. The actions taken through the supplemental budget will bring the force to 1,656 troopers - a level not seen for more than a dozen years.

“I am humbled by the trust Governor Hogan has placed in me and honored to have the privilege to lead the sworn and civilian employees who make up one of the finest law enforcement departments in the nation,” said Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel William Pallozzi. “I am grateful for my career as a state trooper and look forward to the opportunity I have to continue to serve with our troopers as we work to protect the people of Maryland. Governor Hogan’s announcement today regarding additional personnel and resources is a clear and welcome indication of this administration’s commitment to public safety and to the Maryland State Police.”

The Maryland State Police is an essential component of public safety and crime control:

In 2014, Maryland state troopers made more than 19,000 criminal arrests and recovered almost 2,000 illegal guns.

The Regional Automated Property Information Database coordinated by the Maryland State Police assisted in the arrests of more than 1,700 criminals and the recovery of $6.7 million worth of stolen property in 2014.

The Maryland State Police Aviation Command completed its transition to the new helicopter fleet ahead of schedule and last year flew 2,200 patients to lifesaving care. It also helped to find 123 lost or missing people in 2014.

The internationally accredited Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division Crime Laboratory analyzed 21,139 cases last year, 72 percent of which were for local police departments in the state.