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What is the Baltimore Police Education and Training Center?
The center serves as the training and continued education for new police recruits, active duty officers, police management personnel and other public safety personnel for the City of Baltimore.
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Did UBalt create a new academic program to accommodate the center?
The training material, content and delivery of the Education and Training Center are handled by the Baltimore Police Department. The University of Baltimore has not established a new academic program for the training of BPD personnel, and no new program was approved by the state’s governing bodies.
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Where is the center located?
The Center is located primarily in the H. Mebane Turner Learning Commons for educational instruction and also uses the gym in the Academic Center for physical fitness and endurance activity. Approximately 70,000 square feet is being leased for classrooms and offices on the upper floors of the H. Mebane Turner Learning Commons. This area is self-contained and ideal for the department's exclusive use. Leasing this space helps meet an important city need and allows the University to repurpose and monetize an underutilized facility and make more efficient use of its resources. In addition, some training activities take place in about 24,000 square feet of leased space in the Recreation Center in the Academic Center during designated hours. Physical fitness and endurance are essential to maintain the stamina needed to be a law enforcement officer. While the training and education takes place at UBalt, the Department's headquarters remains in downtown Baltimore.
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What are some of the lease agreement details?
UBalt and the BPD signed a five-year lease agreement for the city to rent space at UBalt. (MyUB login required to view the agreement.)
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Why does the BPD need to relocate from its current training location?
The Baltimore City Police Academy is currently located in a former school at 3500 W. Northern Parkway. According to the federal consent decree, the Northern Parkway location is outmoded and insufficient for training law enforcement professionals. As city leaders said in a Sept. 17 article in The Baltimore Sun, the need for better facilities is vital to the effectiveness of officers on the street.
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Who teaches the cadets?
Cadet training curriculum, including content and delivery, are under the exclusive direction of the BPD. It is anticipated that the BPD will seek to involve college faculty in the delivery of certain educational opportunities. Further, firearms training is not part of the curriculum that will occur at UBalt; that aspect of the training is handled elsewhere.
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Why is UBalt the ideal location for the new center?
UBalt has vacant, available space on campus that suits the department's immediate need, providing a central location and an excellent environment for teaching and learning.
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How many cadets will be on campus at any given time?
There are about 60 cadets in the first class receiving police training at UBalt. Not all cadets may be on campus concurrently. A number of news reports have said that the city needs hundreds of new officers and hopes to achieve these numbers over time.
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How will the BPD agreement affect parking at UBalt?
The Department has leased unreserved parking spaces in the Maryland Avenue Garage for their use. View the parking agreement. (MyUB login required to view the agreement.)
As of January 2020, Bee Cards for faculty and staff who currently park in the Maryland Avenue Garage have been programmed to also allow access to the Fitzgerald Garage. To make this transition into the Fitzgerald Garage as convenient as possible, parkers will have access to both garages until Feb. 17, 2020.
Bee Cards will not provide access for faculty and staff to park in the Maryland Avenue Garage after Feb. 17, and we encourage everyone to start parking at the Fitzgerald Garage in January so we can address any potential issues or concerns in advance of the Feb. 17 deadline.
If your Bee Card does not allow access to the Fitzgerald Garage, email parking@ubalt.edu as soon as possible. If you are an employee and have questions concerning reasonable accommodations as they concern parking on campus, check out this UBalt policy.
If you currently park in the Maryland Avenue Garage, you don't have to do anything to switch to the Fitzgerald Garage. No paperwork is required, and Bee Cards have already been programmed to allow access at the Fitzgerald.
The entrance to the Fitzgerald Garage, via GPS, is 80 W. Oliver St., Baltimore, Md., 21201.
If your Bee Card does not work at the Fitzgerald, pull a ticket at the entrance gate. Email parking@ubalt.edu as soon as possible to get your card activated.
Also, note that if you are among the small number of UBalt community members who chose to pay more to park at the Fitzgerald Garage, your pre-tax payroll deductions will be reduced without any action on your part.
If you use the UBalt Shuttle, the passenger pick-up location at the Fitzgerald is just inside the garage entrance, across from the attendant’s booth.
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When did cadets begin their education and training at UBalt?
On Jan. 13, 2020, the BPD Education and Training Program began a phased move-in to transition from their current site to the UBalt campus. Construction will continue in the early spring 2020 semester as education and training functions are relocated to the UBalt campus. Updates will be shared throughout the spring semester and more information about campus impacts will be shared as appropriate.
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Does the BPD center's presence support UBalt's mission?
We have a long-standing University-wide commitment to city engagement. There are no walls between our campus and the dozens of neighborhoods that make up Baltimore. Our students, faculty, staff and alumni demonstrate our commitment with close involvement in major city initiatives. With the arrival of the BPD Education and Training Center, a new era of engagement and support are underway.