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Maryland Manual 1994-1995 Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services/447
In 1909, the Board of Police Commissioners of Baltimore City urged the creation of a State detective
force, as the Governor, Fire Marshal and State's Attorneys in the counties frequently requested the
assistance of Baltimore City's expert investigators. The first tentative step towards a statewide police force,
however, was taken in 1914 as a corps of motorcycle officers under the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles
began to enforce motor vehicle laws throughout Maryland (Chapter 564, Acts of 1914).
The need for statewide enforcement of criminal law became more critical after World War I when a crime
wave struck Maryland. The Governor, Police Commissioner of Baltimore City, and the Commissioner of Motor
Vehicles came up with a plan for a State Police Force under the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. Former
servicemen were recruited and the first training camp was conducted early in 1921. By 1922, the force of
motorcycle deputies had statewide jurisdiction over criminal cases through deputization by the county sheriffs.
The force was supported by a plainclothes investigative department and was known as the State Police Force.
In 1935, the State Police Act established the Maryland State Police as a separate department of State
government (Chapter 303, Acts of 1935). The new agency was funded out of revenues from the Department
of Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. It was granted statewide police powers, including enforcement of fish,
oyster, game and other conservation laws, and was required to maintain a training school.
Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. In 1970, as part of the effort to streamline State
government, the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services was created, absorbing the previously
autonomous entities of the Division of Correction, Division of Parole and Probation, Maryland State Police,
State Civil Defense and Emergency Planning Agency, State Fire Prevention Commission and the State Fire
Marshal, Maryland Traffic Safety Commission, and Patuxent Institution, as well as certain advisory boards. The
State Civil Defense and Emergency Planning Agency was renamed several times and then transferred to the
Military Department in 1989 as the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (Chapter 674, Acts of 1989).
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OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
Bishop L. Robinson, Secretary of Public Safety &
Correctional Services
6776 Reisterstown Road
Baltimore, MD 21215—2341 (410) 764-4004
Appointed by the Governor with Senate advice
and consent, the Secretary of Public Safety and
Correctional Services directs and coordinates State
law enforcement and correctional programs. The
Secretary also serves on the Governor's Executive
Council; the Governor's Advisory Board for Justice
Assistance; the State Board of Victim Services; the
State Advisory Council on Alcohol and Drug
Abuse; the Governor's Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Commission; and the Interdepartmental Advisory
Committee for Minority Affairs; the Pricing Com-
mittee for Blind Industries and Services of Mary-
land; and the Pricing and Selection Committee for
Rehabilitation and Employment Programs.
Reporting directly to the Secretary are the Mary-
land State Police, the State Fire Marshal, the Divi-
sion of Pretrial Detention and Services, the Division
of Correction, Patuxent Institution, and the Divi-
sion of Parole and Probation. The office of the
Secretary also oversees the Explosives Advisory
Council, the Handgun Roster Board, and the Cor-
rectional Options Advisory Board. The Secretary is
assisted by a deputy secretary and two assistant
secretaries.
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EXPLOSIVES ADVISORY COUNCIL
Stoyan L. Russell, Chairperson, 1998
(410) 764-4000
Formed in 1984, the Explosives Advisory Coun-
cil recommends to the Department rules and regu-
lations for the storage, use, manufacture, and
transport of explosive material (Chapter 694, Acts
of 1984). The Council reviews proposed rules,
regulations, and laws that affect the manufacture,
use, or distribution of explosives. On a continual
basis, it monitors new developments in the explo-
sives industry, including safety precautions, tech-
niques for blasting, and federal regulations.
The Council may have no more than nineteen
members. They are appointed to five-year terms by
the Governor (Code 1957, Art. 41, sec. 4-106).
HANDGUN ROSTER BOARD
Chairperson: Col. Larry W. Tolliver,
Superintendent, Maryland State Police
(410) 653-4219
The Handgun Roster Board was established in
1988 (Chapter 533, Acts of 1988). The Board
compiles, maintains, and publishes the Handgun
Roster, which lists those handguns manufactured
after January 1, 1985, that may be manufactured
for distribution or sales, sold, or offered for sale in
Maryland. It is illegal in Maryland to sell or offer for
sale a handgun manufactured after January 1,1985,
that is not on the Handgun Roster. Semiannually,
the Handgun Roster is published in the Maryland
Register.
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