| Paid training | The entry-level police academy is six months and paid. Police Officer salary as of 1 July 2026 runs $68,359 to $124,316, with a $10,000 signing bonus paid on graduation, $5,000 a year of student loan assistance for new hires and equipment at no cost. No repayment clause is published for officers. |
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| Pension | A pension after 25 years of service paying 60% of the sworn member's salary. Veterans with three years of active duty can retire at 22 years at the same 60%. Time served as a police cadet counts toward sworn retirement. A 457(b) deferred compensation plan is optional on top. |
| No experience needed | For sworn officers: high school diploma or GED, valid driver's licence, and at least 20 years 9 months old when the academy begins. There is also a cadet route from 17 years 6 months for anyone with a diploma or GED, and Maryland residency is not required. |
| Promoted from within | Police cadets, hired from 18, do real unit work in homicide, robbery, recruitment and the crime lab before they are old enough to be sworn, and that cadet time counts toward sworn retirement. Cadets who do not enter the academy on reaching 20 years 6 months are terminated. |
Every claim above is sourced and dated. See sources on the full page.
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