How to Become a Police Officer in Maryland

IMPORTANT:

The information below maybe outdated, please visit the official website of the law enforcement agency that you interested in working for for more accurate information.

Joining the ranks of the Maryland State Police is more than a job; it is the start of a difficult, demanding yet ultimately very satisfying career for the right type of person. Maryland State Troopers enjoy the respect and prestige that come with membership in one of the finest police departments in the country. Yet that respect and prestige is earned, not given. The following information will help you decide if you have what it takes to be a Trooper!

Basic Duties of a Trooper:

A Trooper’s duties and responsibilities include serving the citizens of Maryland by:

• Enforcing criminal and motor vehicle laws of the State of Maryland.
• Investigating traffic accidents.
• Investigating and handling criminal investigations such as armed robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts and child abuse cases.
• Provide basic medical attention to injured persons.
• Issue traffic citations and warnings.
• Interview witnesses, victims and suspects.
• Arrest and process suspects.
• Write field reports documenting investigations.
• Prepare cases for court and testify before juries and judges.

Do You Qualify?

Applicants must meet the following minimum qualifications:

• Must be U.S. citizen. Must become a Maryland resident on date of appointment as a Trooper Candidate.
• Must have a high school diploma or current GED.
• Must possess a valid driver’s license. Applicants may have a current valid out-of-state license, as long as Maryland residency laws are satisfied.
• Must have minimum visual acuity of 20/100 uncorrected binocular, correctable to 20/20 binocularly with soft contact lenses or safety glasses. Normal color discrimination, depth perception and a field of vision of 170 degrees is required.
• Must be at least 20 years of age.
• Must be in excellent physical condition.
• Must be of good reputation and sound moral character (no felony convictions).
• No convictions under domestic violence law. No current ex-partes or court orders relating to domestic violence.
• Satisfactory driving record.
• TRUTHFULNESS AT EVERY STAGE OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS.

THE SELECTION PROCESS – During the selection process are you prepared to:
Go through a long, competitive process which includes a written exam, functional fitness test, oral interview, an in-depth background investigation, drug screening, polygraph exam and medical and psychological screening?

Invest up to a year to complete this process?

Risk disappointment if you are not selected?

Retake the written test and functional fitness test if you do not achieve an acceptable score?

THE TRAINING ACADEMY – If selected are you prepared to :
Live at the academy for 24 weeks with limited contact with family and friends? Spend disciplinary weekends on the academy compound if you receive too many demerits?
Operate within a strict, disciplined, paramilitary system?

Participate in a rigorous physical and mental training program. This includes college level academic courses requiring hundreds of classroom and study hours and numerous practical and written tests?
Participate in physical training such as swimming, boxing, judo, weight training , and running which may cause you physical discomfort?
Perform menial tasks such as cleaning academy quarters and common areas, making beds, and serving on a kitchen detail?
Obey orders without question, even though you may not understand or agree with the order or its purpose?

AS A TROOPER – Are you willing to :

• Work in any area of the State? Work outside in inclement weather conditions?
• Work weekends, holidays and shift work? Have limited choice of vacation or holiday time due to low seniority?
• Be the target of abusive or profane language from citizens yet respond in a professional manner?
• Confront and arrest persons who may be larger and stronger than you or who are armed with a deadly weapon?
• Face social isolation and the loss of former friends because of your choice of a career?
• Relieve the suffering of animals such as deer or dogs that have been injuried by a motor vehicle?
• Take the life of a person in self-defense or defense of another person?
• Investigate violent or brutal crimes and effectively interact with the victim?
• Investigate fatal traffic accidents . . . provide medical attention to persons who have been severely injured. . . deal with hysterical witnesses. . . deliver death notices to next of kin and attend autopsies
• Complete large numbers of reports, forms and other types of paperwork?
• Place yourself at risk to assist others and perform dangerous tasks in an unsafe environment?

Training Academy

Successful applicants will be accepted into the Maryland State Police Training Academy in Pikesville, Maryland. Trooper Candidates will live at the Academy Monday through Friday for 25 weeks. Trooper Candidates will be required to stand military-style inspection daily. An accumulation of demerits may lead to disciplinary weekends on the compound.

Ethics, teamwork and accountability for one’s own actions are hallmarks of this intensive program. The Academy operates within a quasi-military, disciplined, learning environment. Trooper Candidates will participate in a rigorous physical and mental training program.

This includes college level academic courses, coupled with scenario-based practical evaluations; physical training includes aerobic and strength conditioning, boxing and defensive tactics. Trooper Candidates will receive practical instruction in areas including, but not limited to, use of firearms, emergency vehicle operation, criminal and motor vehicle law and officer survival techniques. Trooper Candidates may receive up to 42 college credits for work successfully completed in the Academy.

Trooper Field Training

After graduation from the Academy, a new Trooper reports to one of the 23 State Police field installations. A Trooper’s authority is statewide and ranges far beyond that of local and county police agencies. For eight weeks, the New Trooper will be supervised by a competent senior Field Training Trooper (FTT). During this period, the new Trooper is afforded an opportunity to apply his or her Academy education and training to actual police situations. Following satisfactory completion of field training, Troopers begin independent patrol activities.

The Cadet Program:

The Maryland State Police has a unique, unclassified position available to young men and women who are high school graduates between the ages of 17 and 19. The main purpose of this position is to expose young men and women to the various duties and responsibilities of the Maryland State Police in order to better prepare them to become Troopers when they reach the age of 21. Cadets are assigned to perform duties that do not require police authority. They are generally assigned to the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division.

Cadets will be assigned to work under the supervision of a Trooper at a scale house or on a roving patrol. Cadet applicants are required to appear before a Maryland State Police Recruiter at an initial interview where their basic qualifications can be verified. If the applicant meets the basic requirements, an application will be issued. Applicants completing and returning the application to the Recruiting Section of the Maryland State Police must successfully complete each of the following steps:

• Functional Fitness Test
• Polygraph Examination
• Oral Interview Board
• Drug Testing
• Background Investigation
• Physical Examination
• Conditional Offer