ST. MARY’S TODAY

(Nov. 1, 2009) --- As the tax funds available to Maryland’s politicians, which includes many dozens of really spendthrift bozos, in a good year, have been cut despite a huge billion-dollar tax hike passed two years ago, many legitimate needs of the public have gone by the wayside, including the funds available for law enforcement.

While the number of positions for the Maryland State Police have been cut, equipment budgets for new police cruisers have been slashed and salaries have been slashed, as state employees have been asked to share in the economic pain, there are few bright spots to report on.

In the past year while Governor Martin O’Malley has been promoting the Obama Administration stimulus plan as bringing needed money to Maryland to fund transportation projects, some of that money has begun to trickle in. But at the same time that O’Malley has demanded that state employees take layoffs, furloughs and pay cuts, the incessant far-left environmental agenda embraced by the Governor propelled him into the purchase of $57 million from the Jesuits for parcels of land in St. Mary’s and Cecil Counties.

Included in the cost was a real estate agent fee for the Conservation Fund, based in Arlington, Va. Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot questioned why the State was hiring conservation groups to act as an agent for the state, and in this case, paying $606,000 to the group to arrange a deal between the religious order and the taxpayers of Maryland.

It doesn’t seem that the Catholic order of priests would have been that hard to deal with that the environmentalists had to do that much work.

The money that the O’Malley Administration turned over to the Conservation Fund, $606,000 would have purchased 25 new State Police cars to replace aging cruisers in the fleet. When police cars are kept too long, they begin to have failures in important safety components. Police cars are expected to be available in a moments notice to respond to critical emergencies and while there perhaps have been too stringent an application of replacement rules in the past, persons familiar with the present equipment rules are fearful that replacement being deferred is endangering lives of troopers and the public.

The $57 million spent to acquire more than 4,000 acres of land which the state can’t afford to manage while laying off employees is hard to justify. Program Open Space money is not a sacred cow and in dire economic conditions such as the nation and state are experiencing now, should be considered for transfer to the general fund. The land that O’Malley bought is land that was already in the critical areas, had no access to sewer and had little development potential, meaning that the purchase wasn’t really needed to protect it.

The State Police have been tasked to do dozens of errands for the General Assembly every time a new crime hits the panic button. The trouble is that the legislators don’t ever add any additional positions to the state police, meaning that troopers are pulled from the barracks in the 23 counties and sent off to special divisions.

The 59 new troopers who graduated from the academy this past week will do nothing to add to the workforce and will simply help replace those who are retiring.

Maryland citizens didn’t fare any better under Governor Robert Ehrlich who has the distinction of having his appointment to be the Superintendent of the State Police, Edward Norris, go to jail for corruption when he raided police funds for his party time in New York and other incidentals. Norris had been police commissioner in Baltimore City prior to being appointed by Ehrlich. No other head of the state police has ever gone to jail and Norris now has a radio show in Baltimore.

While Southern Maryland has been the fastest growing region of Maryland there are less troopers assigned to the area than were here 30 years ago.

There are serious deficiencies in staffing of the State Police Crime Lab as well as the investigation section which examines criminal backgrounds for those seeking to buy firearms. Many purchasers of firearms have obtained weapons without a background check being performed within the legal time frame, making their purchase automatic.

A backlog in processing of blood samples for the counties has pushed the limits for speedy trial requirements for those accused of crimes.

In a local case, the blood alcohol sample for George Michael Bowes of Callaway, has yet to be processed with the results of the State Police lab expected in the next two weeks. Bowes crashed into a Tall Timbers couple on Rt. 249 in Valley Lee on July 25th, killing the driver of the car, Russell Wenzel and seriously injuring his wife.

Bowes has not yet been charged and police expect that the crime lab report on his blood alcohol level will allow Special Prosecutor Andrew Rappaport to proceed with vehicle homicide while intoxicated charges.

State Police spokesman Greg Shipley told ST. MARY’S TODAY on Thursday that the results will be back within two weeks and will not delay any trial process.

(Sykesville, MD) – Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith joined Colonel Terrence B. Sheridan on Friday as the Maryland State Police Superintendent welcomed 59 new state troopers into the ranks and announced a new DNA database milestone that is evidence of the O’Malley-Brown Administration’s commitment to improving public safety technology.

"The people of our communities respect and trust the men and women of the Maryland State Police because they have earned that respect and trust," County Executive Smith said. "I know that today’s graduates will also inspire confidence by demonstrating the commitment, bravery, and professionalism that the people of this State have come to expect from their troopers."

Colonel Sheridan told the graduates they have a significant mission to fulfill. "The citizens of Maryland are counting on you to protect their lives and property," Colonel Sheridan said. "You are now a part of our efforts to continue Governor Martin O’Malley’s mandate of security integration throughout Maryland. Working in support of and in coordination with our federal and local law enforcement partners, we will continue to make a positive difference in the lives of our citizens and the future of our state."

Colonel Sheridan also announced that Maryland’s DNA database, housed at the State Police Forensic Sciences Division laboratory, has now made more than 1,500 positive comparisons, or "hits," as they are commonly referred to. A positive comparison occurs when DNA obtained from a crime victim or scene is matched with either a known offender sample or DNA from another crime scene that is on file in Maryland’s DNA database, or CODIS, the Combined DNA Index System, which enables access to the national database.

The rate at which positive DNA comparisons are now occurring is faster than ever before. Maryland’s DNA database was established by law in 1994 and the first positive comparison occurred in 1998. It was eight years later, in August 2006, when State Police scientists reached the 500th hit.

Twenty-three months later, Governor O’Malley announced the 1,000th hit, in July 2008. Now, only 15 months later, another 500 positive comparisons have been made, indicating the database is more efficient than it has ever been.

According to the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, 72 criminal arrests were made in the first eight months of this year as a result of 123 offender hits made through the DNA database during that same period. There are currently 81,371 offender samples and 3,301 ‘arrested/charged’ samples in the statewide DNA database.

On January 1, 2009, legislation proposed and signed into law by Governor O’Malley took effect that requires those arrested and charged with qualifying violent crimes, or 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burglaries and attempts to commit those crimes, to submit a DNA sample. Since the beginning of this year, 33 positive comparisons have occurred as a result of the new law. This has a direct impact on crime because it gives police the ability to take criminals off the street sooner and before they can continue their criminal activities.

In January 2008, Governor O’Malley announced the elimination of the backlog of untested and uncollected DNA samples from convicted felons that had grown to more than 24,000 by the end of 2006. The backlog elimination was the result of additional funding for new positions and new equipment provided by the Governor.

In addition to Governor O’Malley’s support, the success of the statewide DNA database is due to the hard work and cooperation of many individuals. They include the personnel of the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division and those in local police DNA laboratories, as well as the cooperative collection efforts by the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, the Department of Parole and Probation, sheriff’s offices and detention centers across the state, and Maryland’s district and circuit court systems.

The new troopers graduating today have spent the last six months undergoing intense training in Constitutional law, motor vehicle law, crash investigation, criminal investigation, physical training, defense tactics, firearms and driving. They spent those six months living at the Maryland State Police Training Academy in Sykesville, where they endured strict supervision that included daily room and personnel inspections, work details, military drill, and persistent instructors who demanded their very best each day.

While 22 of the new troopers already have college degrees, another 26 of their classmates are enrolled in a special program with the Frederick Community College. Through their training in the Academy, coupled with another four weeks of study, these troopers will complete their Associate of Arts degrees in criminal justice studies.

The trooper candidates did much more than just study while in the Academy. They held an American Red Cross blood drive and collected more than 30 units of blood.

They raised money for Special Olympics Maryland and ran in the Carroll County leg of the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics. They also ran in the opening ceremonies of the Special Olympics Summer Games at Towson University.

In September, the recruits ran in the Howard County Police Pace 5K race, another charity fund-raiser. The members of the 134th Class won first place for the top police academy team, first place for the top male recruit, and the entire class finished before any other police academy competing.

After a few well-deserved days off, the new troopers will report to their duty assignments at barracks throughout Maryland. They will be teamed with veteran troopers for eight weeks before being permitted to patrol alone.