NCJ Number
97573
Date Published
1984
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This report discusses the background of the State Aid for Police Protection Program in Maryland, highlights program and formula changes, and describes the impact of program funding changes.
Abstract
The Maryland General Assembly adopted the program and the funding formula in 1968 to provide State support for adequate police protection at the local level. The funding formula had four basic provisions. The first provision, basic expenditure, allows the State to assist all subdivisions to maintain at least a minimal police service, up to $6.00 per capita. The second provision, share above basic expenditure, provides that the State would share in 25 percent of any police expenditures over $6.00 per capita. The third provision, minimum grant, requires that the total police aid grant for any subdivision would be at least $1.50 per capita. The fourth provision, municipal share, states that municipalities within a county share in the total police aid provided to that subdivision in direct proportion to their relative police expenditures. The State Aid for Police Protection program has undergone numerous changes since 1968 which have greatly increased the funding and complexity of the program. In many cases, the piecemeal changes added additional layers of grants rather than altered the existing grant formula. The current formula is administered by the Maryland State Police. Based on an analysis of 5 fiscal years (1969, 1970, 1976, 1979, and 1981) in which there were major increases in the level of police aid, the report concludes that police aid is distributed primarily on a per capita basis and that the same result could be obtained with a greatly simplified formula. It finds that if the current police aid formula remains unchanged, Baltimore City's allocation will decrease at the rate of over $500,000 annually for the foreseeable future. Suggestions for avoiding this allocation decrease by enacting legislative changes are offered. A total of 14 data tables are included.