Special Police

Justin Fenton provided an excellent overview of special police designation and its requirements and responsibilities ("Are they police?" Oct. 21). He is correct that Maryland commissions special police to provide limited law enforcement services in designated areas. While there are no mandates for special police to receive training before assuming their duties, there is a program available that prepares them for their role as public safety officers. To fill this gap, the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC)

Justin Fenton provided an excellent overview of special police designation and its requirements and responsibilities ("Are they police?" Oct. 21). He is correct that Maryland commissions special police to provide limited law enforcement services in designated areas. While there are no mandates for special police to receive training before assuming their duties, there is a program available that prepares them for their role as public safety officers. To fill this gap, the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC)

City and state legislators say they will push for greater regulation of longstanding but little-known laws that allow security guards to be granted law enforcement powers to arrest and search citizens. "If special police make sense, if they're necessary, and if they really do provide enhanced public safety, then at a minimum there needs to be oversight, accountability, training, and qualifications that are set by the state," Sen. Brian Frosh, who chairs the Judicial Proceedings Committee, said Monday.

To become a barber in Maryland, you need to have completed 1,200 hours of classroom instruction or 2,250 hours as an apprentice. The state requires licensed foresters to have a four-year college degree in forestry, two years of experience and five references. You even need to pass an exam to work as an interior designer. But all it takes to be given the power to detain people, search them and even arrest them is to fill out a two-page form. No training required, and for all intents and purposes, no oversight.

To become a barber in Maryland, you need to have completed 1,200 hours of classroom instruction or 2,250 hours as an apprentice. The state requires licensed foresters to have a four-year college degree in forestry, two years of experience and five references. You even need to pass an exam to work as an interior designer. But all it takes to be given the power to detain people, search them and even arrest them is to fill out a two-page form. No training required, and for all intents and purposes, no oversight.

The two men wore body armor with "POLICE" written across the chest and spilled out of their unmarked car, weapons drawn, ordering Christopher Dukes and his passenger out of their vehicle at a South Baltimore gas station parking lot. When Dukes pulled off, they embarked on a high-speed chase down Interstate 295 until catching up and placing the pair under arrest, charging documents show. Then it was time for the real police to take over. The men in the body armor were not Baltimore police officers or federal agents, but instead a little-known classification of security guards known as "special police," who are commissioned by the city or state to arrest and detain citizens - but only on specific properties.

More than 20 Cherry Hill residents have filed a $25 million lawsuit against a Cleveland-based security company, claiming the company's officers routinely overstep their authority and abuse citizens' rights. "They act like cowboy-wannabe cops," William H. "Billy" Murphy Jr., the residents' attorney, said at a news conference Tuesday at a community church. "We're tired of it, and we're going to put them in their place. " The suit names three officers employed by Tenable Protective Services, two of whom have been appointed as "special police officers," a little-known classification for security guards in Maryland that grants them limited police powers within specific areas.

Founded in the 1920s as a summer retreat for Baltimore's elite, Gibson Island, with a gated causeway separating it from the rest of Anne Arundel County, rarely sees a tourist or visitor who isn't expected. Even state and county police in marked patrol cars have been stopped and questioned by guards at the gatehouse. Now, the guards themselves are the target of a state police investigation looking into allegations of misconduct. Over the past four months, the investigation has found that some guards on the island's private security force overstepped their authority by stopping motorists for speeding - sometimes using a radar gun. In some cases, the security guards were improperly wearing the uniforms of the island's private police force, whose officers have limited police powers.

A man and a woman were arrested Tuesday afternoon and charged with shoplifting more than $300 worth of merchandise from a Sears store in Parole Plaza, county police said yesterday.Stephen Baer, 29, a special police officer at the store, told police he saw a man and a woman go to the men's department about 3:30 p.m. Each took a coat from a rack, removed the tags and put on the coat, he said. The pair then went to the linen department, where the woman took a package of sheets from the display and hid them in a shopping bag, Mr. Baer told police.

A special police team today flushed out a heavily armed group of robbers from a Pimlico food market after an all-night standoff during which no shots were fired and no one was injured.Instead, officers from the Quick Response Team used psychology, keeping the suspects awake while heavily armed Quick Response Team members conducted a methodical search of the sprawling building.The tense barricade ended today at 8:20 a.m. after three men were arrested and three weapons were seized. A fourth suspect, believed carrying a shotgun, escaped when the robbers were first detected last night.

City and state legislators say they will push for greater regulation of longstanding but little-known laws that allow security guards to be granted law enforcement powers to arrest and search citizens. "If special police make sense, if they're necessary, and if they really do provide enhanced public safety, then at a minimum there needs to be oversight, accountability, training, and qualifications that are set by the state," Sen. Brian Frosh, who chairs the Judicial Proceedings Committee, said Monday.

The two men wore body armor with "POLICE" written across the chest and spilled out of their unmarked car, weapons drawn, ordering Christopher Dukes and his passenger out of their vehicle at a South Baltimore gas station parking lot. When Dukes pulled off, they embarked on a high-speed chase down Interstate 295 until catching up and placing the pair under arrest, charging documents show. Then it was time for the real police to take over. The men in the body armor were not Baltimore police officers or federal agents, but instead a little-known classification of security guards known as "special police," who are commissioned by the city or state to arrest and detain citizens - but only on specific properties.

More than 20 Cherry Hill residents have filed a $25 million lawsuit against a Cleveland-based security company, claiming the company's officers routinely overstep their authority and abuse citizens' rights. "They act like cowboy-wannabe cops," William H. "Billy" Murphy Jr., the residents' attorney, said at a news conference Tuesday at a community church. "We're tired of it, and we're going to put them in their place. " The suit names three officers employed by Tenable Protective Services, two of whom have been appointed as "special police officers," a little-known classification for security guards in Maryland that grants them limited police powers within specific areas.

Officers representing the police agencies throughout Carroll County hit the streets of Sykesville, Taneytown, Manchester, Westminster and Mount Airy on Wednesday, taking part in the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run Relay for Special Olympics Maryland. The officers escorted the Special Olympics Flame of Hope - and a crew of hearty atheletes - in preparation for the opening of the 42nd anniversary Summer Games at Towson University, June 8-10. This year marks the 27th anniversary of the Maryland Torch Run, a movement that began in 1986 with a handful of officers raising $5,000.

In Baltimore's most stubbornly violent districts, police have taken a decidedly different approach this year: staying put. As the city continues to march toward a historic year-to-year drop in homicides, two of the biggest success stories are coming from the Eastern and Western districts, which have long been among the city's bloodiest. Police leaders say a major factor is the consistent presence of an enforcement team focused on developing intelligence on violent criminals who frequent those areas.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- U.S. officials announced plans yesterday to rein in Iraqi special police forces, increasing the number of troops assigned to work with them and requiring permission for Iraqi raids in Baghdad, after a series of abuse scandals that have inflamed sectarian tensions. The decision to impose more day-to-day oversight suggests a recognition within the U.S. military that the heavy-handed tactics of some Iraqi units, which are to increasingly take on the role of fighting insurgents, have aggravated sectarian tensions that help fuel the insurgency.

Officers representing the police agencies throughout Carroll County hit the streets of Sykesville, Taneytown, Manchester, Westminster and Mount Airy on Wednesday, taking part in the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run Relay for Special Olympics Maryland. The officers escorted the Special Olympics Flame of Hope - and a crew of hearty atheletes - in preparation for the opening of the 42nd anniversary Summer Games at Towson University, June 8-10. This year marks the 27th anniversary of the Maryland Torch Run, a movement that began in 1986 with a handful of officers raising $5,000.

Founded in the 1920s as a summer retreat for Baltimore's elite, Gibson Island, with a gated causeway separating it from the rest of Anne Arundel County, rarely sees a tourist or visitor who isn't expected. Even state and county police in marked patrol cars have been stopped and questioned by guards at the gatehouse. Now, the guards themselves are the target of a state police investigation looking into allegations of misconduct. Over the past four months, the investigation has found that some guards on the island's private security force overstepped their authority by stopping motorists for speeding - sometimes using a radar gun. In some cases, the security guards were improperly wearing the uniforms of the island's private police force, whose officers have limited police powers.