Sheriff: Bureau of Police to be dissolved as police agencies reunite

Sheriff: Bureau of Police to be dissolved in reunification
* Robertson tells Bureau of Police officers, sheriff's deputies of plan in Wednesday meeting

* Issues such as seniority, job security addressed in plan

By Kevin Spradlin
PhDispatch.com
MOUNT SAVAGE, April 20 -- Details won't be presented until possibly next week, but Allegany County Sheriff Craig Robertson said Wednesday that he intends to follow the recommendation of a five-member committee and returning county law enforcement under one roof - thereby dissolving the Bureau of Police.

Doing so "kind of closes the wound a little bit," Robertson said.

Robertson met with approximately 20 of the 28 officers and deputies Wednesday afternoon at the Allegany County Detention Center to brief them on the process and progress of the re-merging of the two agencies that have been split since July 2008. Two of the absent eight officers are on vacation, Robertson said, and the others were otherwise unavailable.

"I just felt they need to know before they hear it from somebody else," Robertson told PhDispatch.com Wednesday night.

Robertson said he plans to present his recommendation, which he said mirrors that of the advisory five-member panel Robertson appointed in December, on April 28 during the commissioners' regularly scheduled weekly public meeting. The commissioners can weigh in on the subject at that time, Robertson said. But they're not the only ones.

"The public has a right to comment on anything, too," Robertson said.

Any plan must be approved by the commissioners.

The meeting on Wednesday started out on a positive note - at least fiscally. Robertson and County Commissioner Mike McKay received approval from the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commission in Sykesville on Tuesday for a waiver for the Bureau of Police officers to undergo background checks and psychological exams - the third time veterans of the county would have had to undergo such steps despite having had the same employer the entire time.

"That in itself is going to be a nice savings to the budget and the county," Robertson said. "We're probably talking $15,000 to $20,000."

While the future of Bureau of Police Chief J. Robert Dick is uncertain - Robertson said he's likely to be offered another assignment in county government - the doors are open for all others to return to the sheriff's office.

The committee, Robertson said, addressed issues such as seniority and job security and the committee "tried to develop something that would be fair to everybody."

"The plan itself (is) to welcome everybody back to the office of the sheriff," Robertson said.

Robertson credited the committee for its dedication and thoroughness to draft a thorough recommendation in less than four months. The committee, he said, met almost every week.

While the reunified Sheriff's Office will be working under one shield, deputies also will be working under one roof. Robertson said other than perhaps storing equipment at Mexico Farms, deputies will work out of the Furnace Street headquarters - at least in the short term.

Robertson said the Mexico Farms location is "a nice building (but) the five extra miles outside of the town seems like an eternity getting to it."

He said the Furnace Street location is close to the District and Circuit courthouses as well as the 911 center, where the deputies pick up warrants to be served.

The Furnace Street facility, though much older and more than a little bit smaller, is "more in the hub of what (local) law enforcement" needs on a daily basis.

The Furnace Street office is "suitable for our needs" at least in the short-term, Robertson said. All recent heads of county law enforcement - Dick, Robertson and former Sheriff David Goad - have cited a need for a headquarters other than Furnace Street.