Baltimore Police Department
| Baltimore Police Department | |
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| Common name | Baltimore Police Department |
| Abbreviation | BPD |
Patch of the Baltimore Police Department
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Badge of the Baltimore Police Department
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Flag of the City of Baltimore
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| Motto |
Semper Paratus, Semper Fideles, Ever on the Watch Ever Ready, Ever Faithful, Ever on the Watch |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1845 |
| Employees | 3,220 (2013) |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | City of Baltimore in the state of Maryland, United States |
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| Baltimore Police Districts | |
| Size | 148.14 km² |
| Population | 621,342 |
| Legal jurisdiction | Baltimore, Maryland |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Bishop L. Robinson, Sr. Police Administration Building 601 E Fayette St Baltimore, Maryland 21202 |
| Officers | 3,080 (2014) |
| Mayor of Baltimore responsible | Catherine E. Pugh |
| Agency executives |
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| Parent agency | Baltimore City Council |
| Child agency | Maryland Transportation Authority Police |
| Facilities | |
| Districts | 1-Central 2-Southeast 3-Eastern 4-Northeast 5-Northern 6-Northwest 7-Western 8-Southwest 9-Southern |
| Marked and Unmarked Vehicles | Chevrolet Suburbans, Tahoes, Caprices, Impalas, Ford Interceptors, Utility Interceptors, Explorers, Crown Victorias, Escapes and Harley-Davidson Police Motorcycles |
| Helicopters | Eurocopter EC 120 |
| Horses | 12 |
| Website | |
| Baltimore Police Website | |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
The Baltimore Police Department (BPD) provides police services to the City of Baltimore, Maryland and was originally organized in 1784 as a "nightwatch" and a force of day "Constables". It was reorganized by mayor of Baltimore Thomas Swann in 1857, and officially established by the Maryland Legislature on March 16, 1853. It is the eighth largest police force in the US and is organized into ten districts, nine based on geographical areas and the Public Housing Section, and is responsible for policing 80.9 square miles (210 km2) of land and 11.1 square miles (29 km2) of waterways. The department is sometimes referred to as the Baltimore City Police Department to distinguish itself from the Baltimore County Police Department.
The first attempt to establish a police department in Baltimore occurred in 1784, nearly 60 years after the founding of the original town, when a guard force of constables were authorized to enforce town laws and arrest those in violation. The first BPD officer to die in the line of duty was Sergeant William Jourdan who was shot and killed by an unknown gunman during the first city council elections on October 14, 1857. Night Watchman George Workner was the first law enforcement officer to be killed in the city when he was stabbed during an escape attempt by nine inmates in the Baltimore City Jail on March 14, 1808, but his death predates the founding of the department.
In 1845, the current Baltimore Police Department was founded by the state legislature "to provide for a better security for life and property in the City of Baltimore". The early days of the Department were marked by conflict over Know Nothing control.
In 1861, during the U.S. Civil War, the police department was taken over by the federal government after their involvement in Baltimore riot of 1861—a riot that pushed the two sides over the edge into full-scale war—and run by the U.S. Military until it was turned back over to the legislature in 1862.
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Wikipedia