WILLIAM DONALD SCHAEFER, Governor                   Ch. 446

the number/length of entrance level training programs to be
offered and the number of enrollees in such programs over the
next 10 years that current spacing availability will be unable to
accommodate; and

(2)  that the Maryland State Police Training Academy
in Pikesville is expected to experience similar growth demand as
the Correctional Training Academy, is over 33 years old, is
dependent upon facilities originally intended to serve an all
male workforce only, is reliant upon public/private facilities
outside the immediate complex for purposes ranging from firearm
practice to driver training, is unable to provide a physical
fitness workout area other than a paved parking lot and is not
conducive to emerging and everchanging specialized training; and

(3)  that the number of academies providing entrance
level training for local law enforcement officers has
significantly declined in recent years and that one of the
incredulous consequences is the reliance upon hiring individuals
with full police powers for up to the legal maximum one year
probationary period without the benefit of essential training;
and

(4)  that Parole and Probation training has
experienced significant degradation because the unavailability of
requisite training space at Woodstock has forced Parole and
Probation to rely upon training sites made available in county
libraries, State police barracks, county court houses, and/or
wherever suitable space can be located; and

(5)  renovation at existing facilities, principally at
Woodstock and Pikesville, is expected to be so costly, time
consuming, and encompassing that any alternatives to a new Public
Safety Training Center is considered a nonviable option; and

WHEREAS, A centralized, state-of-the-art Public Safety
Training Center can be realistically expected to help mitigate
the aforementioned shortcomings of existing, fragmented training
facilities programs for both State and local law enforcement and
correctional personnel; and

WHEREAS, The construction of a Public Safety Training Center
is expected to take over 3 years at an estimated cost of $40
million; and

WHEREAS, Efforts are underway to identify a suitable site
for such a facility which must occupy approximately 500 acres and
may take into account the following factors: (1) accessibility to
population served; (2) maintenance of impact area perimeter zone;
(3) proximity to higher education center; and (4) proximity to
inmate labor; and

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