UMUC–BPD Education Alliance
Welcome, Baltimore Police Department students! The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) and Baltimore Police Department (BPD) education alliance provides BPD police officers with a Criminal Justice program that focuses on the critical leadership competencies—strategic thinking, effective communications and teamwork—required in today's increasingly volatile and challenging enforcement environment.
Video: BPD Leadership Program and the Quest to Learn
Former Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld talks about BPD’s partnership with UMUC to build a custom Leadership Program.
Program Benefits
For BPD and the Community
Since its inception in 2008, the Criminal Justice Leadership Development program has become a national model for law enforcement leadership training. Each year, a cohort of about 25 mid- and senior-level officers within the Baltimore Police department participate in the year-long program, which combines traditional classroom instruction with the flexibility of online learning and the dynamics of participatory group work. Over the course of the program, students work on real-life department challenges and then present their recommendations to the BPD leadership. Many of these case study recommendations are subsequently integrated into the day-to-day operations of the department, and they have become an important problem-solving component of the BPD's ability to protect its citizens.
For Individual Participants
The program offers participants the opportunity to advance their careers by discovering and developing their leadership skills. Graduates of the program may also use the 16 credits they have earned toward an undergraduate degree at UMUC. Please see Apply Credits Toward a Degree for more information.
History
In 2007, Frederick H. Bealefeld, who was commissioner of the Baltimore City Police Department at that time, and Dr. William Sondervan, academic director of Criminal Justice at UMUC and former commissioner of the Maryland Division of Correction, discussed developing a leadership program specifically for the BPD. The program would be designed to improve the quality and bench strength of the department's leadership pipeline and to increase the engagement, teamwork and retention of employees. The desired outcome was, and is, to improve public safety by increasing the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the BPD. Enhancing the credentials and leadership experience of BPD officers supports the traditional "promote from within" philosophy of the department and sets the BPD apart as a leader among its peers.
