ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan today issued the following statement after the Maryland State Policeannouncedthat effective January 1, 2022, the state will increase the starting pay of trooper candidates by 45%:
“Today, we are taking the first step in implementing our $150 millionRe-Fund The Police Initiative by ensuring that we offer more competitive salaries to the troopers who will be putting their lives on the line every day to keep the rest of us safe. We need more investment in public safety so that we can recruit and retain quality officers, increase diversity, expand community policing efforts, improve training, and provide better technology and equipment,” Governor Hogan said. “Instead of defunding the police, we are re-funding the police.”