The Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) is a full-time-service law enforcement agency providing police services to a population of 7,031 people within of the municipality of
Ocean City, MD
Ocean City, officially the Town of Ocean City, is an Atlantic resort town in Worcester County, Maryland along the East Coast of the United States. The population was 6,844 at the 2020 U.S. census, although during summer weekends the city hosts b ...
.
History
The OCPD began its tenure in the summer of 1898 with the appointment of a single officer, Cyrus Purnell. In 1900, the mayor and town council approved the expansion of the department to include two more officers and the appointment of Purnell to the position of chief of police. Because of its summertime population swell, the OCPD historically has hired summertime police to supplement its full-time force. In 1965, with the professionalization of the department, the town's officers were attending an officially sanctioned "police academy." This "academy" had officers attending formal classes twice weekly for three weeks which totaled 18 hours of instruction. In contrast, today's police recruits attend the Eastern Shore Criminal Justice Academy for 24 weeks with a total of over 800 hours of instruction.
Equipment
Full time officers employed with the Ocean City Police Department carry the SIG Sauer P226 chambered in .40 S&W. Seasonal Officers carry a S&W Model 65 in .357 magnum.
Organization
The current chief of police is Ross Buzzuro. Apart from traditional duties of
9-1-1
, usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...
response and traffic enforcement, the OCPD has other specialized units:
* Quick Response Team (
SWAT
In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
)
* Traffic Safety Unit
* Bike Unit
*
K-9 Unit
* Mounted Unit
See also
*
List of law enforcement agencies in Maryland
This is a list of law enforcement agencies in the state of Maryland.
According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics' 2008 ''Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies,'' the state had 142 law enforcement agencies employing 16,013 sworn ...
References
External links
Ocean City Police Department official website
{{Law enforcement agencies in Maryland
1898 establishments in Maryland
Worcester County, Maryland
Municipal police departments of Maryland
Government agencies established in 1898
Ocean City, Maryland