The Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police (NRP) is the law enforcement arm of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Natural Resources Police Officers patrol State-owned lands and enforce conservation and boating laws as well as Maryland's Criminal Law and Transportation Article. NRP is the primary law enforcement agency on the waterways of Maryland, and is the primary response agency for all homeland security threats on Maryland waterways. The NRP is also referred colloquially as "DNR" or "DNR Police." Natural Resources Police officers are the only police officers to have Statewide jurisdiction, including Baltimore City. The Maryland State Police also have statewide jurisdiction, but have limited authority within Baltimore City.
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All officers of the NRP undergo a 10 month police academy--6 months of basic police officer training, then 4 months of boating and conservation training. NRP's academy is the longest "live-in" academy in the State. The NRP have statewide authority to enforce all laws, including the Natural Resources Article, the Criminal Law Article, and the Transportation Article.
The NRP is Maryland's oldest state law enforcement agency.[1] The NRP (as it is known today) was officially formed by an act of legislation from the Maryland General Assembly on July 1, 1970. The NRP began in 1868 with the formation of the State Oyster Police. Originally charged with protecting Maryland's oyster beds and enforcing state and federal laws, the Oyster Police merged with the creation of the Office of the State Game Warden in 1896.[2]
The current superintendent (i.e.,Chief of Police) is Col. George F. Johnson, IV. The DNR is divided into four regions as follows:
Within the regions, the NRP is divided into 8 areas (labeled 1-8).
The Maryland Natural Resources Police has many divisions and units, including but not limited to: -Field Operations Bureau (responsible for calls for service, enforcement) -Special Operations Division (Tactical Response Team, Underwater Operations Unit, Homeland Security Unit, Drug Enforcement Unit, HIDTA, Investigations Division, etc) -Support Services (Academy, Academy Staff, Training Division, Quartermaster Division, Maintenance Division)