Students donned a headset and tried to keep up with radio traffic at the MDTA Police Metro Dispatch Center, participated in a tour of the airfield at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport and completed virtual reality training exercises at the MDTA Police Training Academy. (MDTA Police)
Laura Vandervort is a self-proclaimed crime junkie. When she’s not busy supporting the Maryland Transportation Authority’s (MDTA) DriveEzMD Customer Service Centers, you can likely find her watching the latest episode of “Chicago P.D.” That’s why a flyer for the MDTA Police Community Partnerships Academy caught her eye.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “But I saw the flyer and thought, ‘Wow, this sounds interesting!’ How often do you get insight behind the scenes?”
Vandervort joined fellow MDTA employees and community members at MDTA Police Headquarters earlier this year for this eight-week program that gave participants a closer look at the police department providing law enforcement services at MDTA toll facilities, BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, and the Port of Baltimore.
“We don’t hold back,” said MDTA Police Chief Colonel Joseph F. Scott. “We do everything we can to make this an exciting and engaging experience so participants have fun and walk away with a better understanding of what our officers do.”
The program incorporates a variety of teaching methods and guest instructors from across the MDTA Police, including hands on experiences whenever possible. Students donned a headset and tried to keep up with radio traffic at the MDTA Police Metro Dispatch Center, participated in a tour of the airfield at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport and completed virtual reality training exercises at the MDTA Police Training Academy.
The MDTA Police Community Partnerships Academy incorporates a variety of teaching methods and guest instructors from across the MDTA Police, including hands on experiences. (MDTA Police)
Participants get a hands-on experience at the MDTA Police Community Partnerships Academy. (MDTA Police)
Specialized MDTA Police units like the Crisis Negotiation Team, the Special Response Team, the Criminal Investigations Unit, and the K-9 Unit all shared their unique equipment and experiences. Investigators from the MDTA Police Collision Reconstruction Unit explained the complicated steps of a fatal crash investigation and walked the class through real cases.
In the final class before graduation, participants put on a duty belt with training equipment and completed realistic scenarios in a controlled environment. With officers acting as role players and coaches guiding students throughout the experience, the class responded to mock calls for service and conducted mock traffic stops.
But for Vandervort the scenarios, flashy equipment, and case stories weren’t the best part. “You could tell that every officer and instructor wanted to be there, and that made it great,” she said. “The coordination, hard work, and dedication they put into the academy to ensure students had a great experience and were engaged were remarkable.”
In one of the exercises, participants, including Laura Vandervort, seated at the dispatch console, responded to mock calls for service. (MDTA Police)
MDTA employees and community members participated in the eight-week program earlier this year. (MDTA Police)
Organizers are already planning the next session of the MDTA Police Community Partnerships Academy with a schedule to be determined soon. If you’re interested in learning more about the program, contact MDTA Police 1st Sergeant Brady McCormick at [email protected] for more information.
1st Sergeant Brady McCormick is the commander of the MDTA Police Media Relations & Community Outreach Section.