Maryland Ranked Second Best State to be in Law Enforcement

A recent study ranked Maryland as the second best state in the country to pursue a career in law enforcement. New York ranked first.

WalletHub, a finance website, compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 27 key indicators of police-friendliness. The data set ranges from median income for law-enforcement officers to police deaths per 1,000 officers to state and local police-protection expenses per capita.

WalletHub grouped the 27 measurements into three key areas, which include Opportunity and Competition, Job Hazards and Protections, and Quality of Life.

Maryland ranked ninth for Opportunity and Competition, tenth for Job Hazards and Protections, and fifth for Quality of Life.

Ranking for each Key Area

The metrics that were examined to determine a score for Opportunity and Competition are: law-enforcement officers per capita, average starting salary, median income, median income growth, Salary growth potential, and projected growth in positions per capita by 2026.

The metrics that were examined to determine a score for Job Hazards and Protections include: police-misconduct confidentiality law, police body-worn camera legislation, share of law enforcement departments carrying Naloxone, states with laws requiring officers to be trained to respond to mental health, substance use and behavioral disorder issues; degree of lethal force allowed for police use; presence of “Red Flag” laws (“Fed Flag laws” allow the seizure of guns before people can commit acts of violence), requirement of de-escalation training, presence of “Blue Alerts” (The Blue Alert provides the means to speed the apprehension of violent criminals who kill or seriously injure local, state, or federal law enforcement officers), police deaths per 1,000 Officers, persons killed by police per capita, share of law enforcement officers assaulted, pursuit-related fatalities per 100,000 residents, violent-crime rate, property-crime rate, road safety, share of homicide cases solved, and 9-1-1 calls delivered to local and regional answering points per capita,

The metrics that were examined to determine a score for Quality of Life are: state and local police-protection expenses per capita, housing affordability, family- and singles-friendliness, and public image of law enforcement.

The full report may be found at Best States to be a Cop.

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