Agency or Department Name Here (for pda/handhelds)

Accomplishments for Core Goal #4 Personal Protective Equipment for First Responders

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
The State has focused on organizing, standardizing, collecting, and disseminating useful information on the PPE available and currently in-use within their borders to State agencies and local jurisdictions.  In 2007, when Governor O’Malley took office, PPE for State law enforcement officers was not widely available, procurement was uncoordinated, and training and fit-testing were disorganized.  Following are key projects and accomplishments:  

• Purchased and provided all officers in the five largest State law enforcement agencies with a single, standardized PPE package.  In 2008, the State identified a single uniform package (chemical suit, air mask, gloves, etc.) for patrol officers in its five largest law enforcement agencies (Maryland State Police, Transit, Transportation Authority, Natural Resources, and General Services police) and a single Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that includes a unified training curriculum and fit testing to ensure respirators and other PPE fit properly and are effective. Since finalizing this uniform package in 2010, more than $500,000 in State funds have been invested in purchasing PPE for field and tactical officers. 

• Working with local law enforcement leaders to develop a model PPE policy that will make the State law enforcement standard package available to local law enforcement agencies through a blanket purchase order agreement.  The State created a Blanket Purchase Order in 2009 that allowed each State law enforcement agency to acquire its allotment of PPE for all officers.  The Department of General Services is currently modifying this contract so that local law enforcement agencies may access it to purchase their own identical PPE allotment.  Access to the state’s contract will make it more affordable for local law enforcement agencies to purchase PPE and ensures interoperability with state counterparts. The State has begun meeting with local law enforcement agencies to increase awareness of PPE package contract.   
  

• Stockpiled chemical antidotes for WMD attacks throughout the State in strategic locations that exceeds federal standards.  Hundreds of ambluances throughout the State carry caches of chemical antidotes.  Chempack caches (pre-positioned Strategic National Stockpile assets) are co-located with State Police helicopter units in every region of the state.  Chempack stocks include Mark 1 kits (now called Duo-Dote Kits), which are nerve agent antidote effective against Sarin and VX gases.

• Improved Maryland State Police WMD tactical operations capability with the purchase of additional equipment.  In 2008, MSP replaced the obsolete State tactical team armored response vehicle with a new, state-of-the-art WMD-response equipped armored vehicle.