The Maryland State Police is headquartered at 1201 Reisterstown Road in the Pikesville CDP in unincorporated Baltimore County.

The MSP received CALEA's coveted Tri-Arc award Archived 2015-03-16 at the Wayback Machine in November 2014 and is accredited in Law Enforcement, Training Academy, and Communications.

The section ensures thorough and objective investigations of allegations and complaints of misconduct against employees so that a proper defensive or appropriate disciplinary actions is processed.

The Field Operations Bureau is the most visible part of the Maryland State Police since it includes all troopers who regularly interact with the public.

The program complements the MSP's extensive efforts to improve highway safety and help Maryland achieve the goal of zero deaths on our roadways.

Through a variety of investigative techniques, personnel attempt to identify, infiltrate, and dismantle drug organizations operating in Maryland.

It provides materials and services to the Department of State Police and allied law enforcement agencies to enable them to meet their obligations and responsibilities.

The Command also provides aerial support for the Department and allied public safety agencies, conducts search and rescue operations, and aids in criminal investigation and traffic control.

In addition to medevacs, the Aviation Command provides advanced search-and-rescue services and airborne hoisting in emergency situations through the deployment of highly trained crews.

In that year, in response to increasing crime, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles organized a team of police officers who were given statewide jurisdiction to enforce traffic and criminal laws.

It was granted additional statewide police powers to enforce fish, oyster, game and other conservation laws and maintain a training school.

[21] Recent superintendents have included David B. Mitchell from 1995 to 2003, Ed Norris from 2003 to 2004, Thomas E. Hutchins from 2004 to 2007, Terrence Sheridan from 2007 to 2011 and Marcus L. Brown from 2011 to 2015.

Otherwise, except under certain conditions as defined by statute, the agency does not enforce criminal laws within the jurisdiction of those incorporated municipalities which have their own police force.

Maryland State Police troopers are issued the Glock 22 chambered in 40 S&W, replacing the Beretta Px4 Storm and a Remington 870 shotgun.

Most vehicles assigned to patrol functions are equipped with mounted radar units, in-car mobile data terminals, printers, and barcode scanners that allow troopers to access various law enforcement databases as well as provide the hardware support for the MSP's Etix electronic citation program.

[28] The Maryland State Police rank structure is as listed: On September 28, 2008, around 12:00am, Trooper 2 (Eurocopter AS 365N1 Dauphin, N92MD) crashed with five people aboard in Walker Mill Regional Park in Prince George's County.

[31] Out of the five aboard, there were four confirmed fatalities, which included pilot Stephen H. Bunker (retired corporal), paramedic Trooper First Class Mickey C. Lippy, Emergency Medical Technician Tonya Mallard (Waldorf Volunteer Fire Department), and one of the two patients on board.

He served 6 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised probation and was ordered to perform 500 hours of community service.

Many Republican senators expressed concern, "the incident calls into question Brown's judgment and ability to handle controversy and difficult situations within the bounds of the law.

"[35] Brown apologized, admitting, he "made a mistake in judgment", adding his actions didn't reflect well on himself or the state police.

[35] Brown lost his appointment for commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police confirmation vote, mostly along party lines, and subsequently withdrew his name from consideration.

[37] In 1998 several individual plaintiffs, were joined by the NAACP, and the ACLU in filing a federal lawsuit alleging Maryland State Troopers were continuing to engage in racial profiling and discrimination.

[38] In 2003, the Maryland State Police entered into a Consent Decree with the US Department of Justice to resolve major portions of the case.

[39] The consent decree required, among other things; implementation of a policy against racial profiling, audio visual recording of traffic stops and searches, a 24 hour toll free hotline to receive discrimination complaints, and increased training.

In 2008 the State Police finally settled what had become known as the "driving while black" case, by agreeing to pay $300,000 in damages and legal costs, and up to $100,000 to retain an independent consultant to implement policy and practices changes.

In 2008, it was revealed through Freedom of Information Act requests that the Maryland State Police had been engaged in domestic spying of anti-war, anti-death penalty and environmental activists, and classified 53 of them as "terrorists," although none of them committed a violent crime.

The incident brought hundreds of cars and thousands of motorists on the interstate to a standstill for 45-minutes as dozens of police officers conducted vehicle-to-vehicle searches.

[42] The search tactics came into question, with reports of officers walking down I-270 between stopped cars with guns drawn, telling people to get back in their vehicles, and open their trunks.

One woman was reportedly shouted at by police with weapons drawn after she'd opened her car door to throw up, having gotten carsick from sitting in traffic.

"[44] Montgomery County Police spokesman Captain Paul Starks described the incident as a "systematic check of trunks and rear hitches" of detained vehicles.