DocuSign Envelope ID: 2B4C0667-70F5-430A-9750-98CEE2621119

August 11, 2020

The Honorable Marc Korman

6 Bladen Street, Room 210
Lowe House Office Building
Annapolis, MD 21401

Dear Delegate Korman:

Thank you for your June 4, 2020 request for information regarding the WSSC Water’s Police
and Homeland Security Department. We appreciate your patience as we gathered this
information.

As you noted in your letter, the WSSC Water Police was authorized in 2002 by the General
Assembly in response to security concerns raised after the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks. Prior to October 1, 2002 (FY 2003), WSSC Water’s water supply and assets were
protected by security guards in the Security and Safety Services Group.

The responses to the specific requests outlined in your letter are below. Please note, the
incident and investigation data are based on calendar years (CY), while budget and personnel
data are based on fiscal years (FY):

1. Incident statistics regarding theft of service, destruction of property, or any other

investigated crime or incident category and arrests made by officers for the past five
years.

From CY 2015 to CY 2019, the WSSC Water Police issued a total of 128 written warnings, 6
destruction of property citations, 30 theft of service citations and led 6 investigations leading to
criminal charges being filed. The department has not made any arrests in the past five years.

Regarding specific incidents of theft of service and destruction of property within the past five
years, there have been a total of 316 patrol activities and investigations related to theft of
service during that period and 192 patrol activities and investigations related to destruction or
damage to WSSC Water property.
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August 11, 2020
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A summary of written warnings, theft of service and destruction of property citations issued,
and criminal charges filed during CY 2015 to CY 2019, along with a comprehensive overview
of WSSC Water Police activities, including patrol and investigations by category, can be found
in Appendices A and B, respectively.

2. Departmental budget and personnel information since the creation of the existing
police department and its predecessors.

In FY 2003, the Security and Safety Services Group had a budget of $2,246,000 and 39 full-
time equivalent positions. Today, the Police and Homeland Security Department has a budget
of $6,063,378 and 40 full-time equivalent positions. Appendix C provides a breakdown of the
departmental budget and number of full-time employees dating back to FY2000 in response to
your request for the:

• Annual headcount of all officers and support staff since the creation of the Department
in October 2002;

• Annual headcounts of all officers and support staff of the prior Security and Safety
Services Group for the three years before the Department’s creation (FY 2000-2002);

• Annual budget of the Department since creation; and

• Annual budget of the prior Security and Safety Services Group for the three years before
the Department’s creation.

3. Any type of peer benchmarking WSSC conducts on its Police Department or security
spending and examples of any peer systems with their own police forces.

A 2016 Utility Benchmarking and Organizational Efficiency Review1 conducted by Veolia in

2016 found no deficiencies related to security of our facilities or infrastructure. WSSC Water
Police does not participate in benchmarking beyond overall utility benchmarking for its
spending on security and/or police.

Expenditures directly attributable to the police department are limited to uniforms, equipment,
training, salary, fringe benefits and overtime costs. Non-personnel discretionary spending is
primarily spending on the maintenance of WSSC Water’s electronic security system, which is
provides continuous monitoring of our facilities and assets. Between CY 2015-2016, this
system was upgraded in response to an internal audit that recommended enhanced security
measures to increase protection. In addition, in FY 2019, we revised our emergency

1
https://www.wsscwater.com/files/live/sites/wssc/files/Financial/benchmarking/Veolia%20Utility%20Benchmarking%20an
d%20Organizational%20Efficiency%20Review%20for%20WSSC%20(Final)%20v4%20(2).pdf
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The Honorable Marc Korman

August 11, 2020
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management procedures in alignment with EPA-required plans; as expected, this investment

has been critical to our successful response during this pandemic.

WSSC Water’s security and police force are not unique to the important mission of protecting
water sources and assets. Many states have dedicated police forces responsible for protecting
and patrolling their respective state’s watersheds and reservoirs. In Maryland, the Department
of Natural Resources Police shares some jurisdiction with WSSC Water’s Police Department
and assists with patrolling our reservoir properties. Below are additional examples of similar
departments:

a. Baltimore Environmental Police are part of the City of Baltimore Department of

Public Works and are a dedicated full-service law enforcement department
responsible for protecting its watershed: “The Baltimore Environmental Police
safeguard the Baltimore Region’s water supply by protecting the natural resources.
In addition, Environmental Police also provide law enforcement services and provide
for public safety on all Baltimore City Water Supply Lands and Reservoirs.”2

b. New York City Department of Environmental Protection Police also known as

DEP Police, and formerly known as the Bureau of Water Supply Police and the
Aqueduct Police, is a law enforcement agency in New York City whose duties are to
protect and preserve the New York City water supply system.

c. Barnett Reservoir Pearl Valley Water Supply District Police3, a full-service law
enforcement agency in Mississippi responsible for the Barnett Reservoir.

I hope that this information highlights the important work of WSSC Water’s Police and
Homeland Security Division. They are key to our mission of providing safe, clean and reliable
drinking water to the almost 2 million customers that we serve. If you have any additional
questions, please contact Guy Andes, Government Relations Manager, at 240-917-5356 or
guy.andes@wsscwater.com.

Sincerely,

Carla A. Reid
General Manager/CEO

2
https://publicworks.baltimorecity.gov/water-wastewater/environmental-police
3 https://www.therez.ms.gov/Pages/Reservoir-Police.aspx
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August 11, 2020
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Appendix A
Warnings, Citations Issued and Criminal Charges Filed by Year, CY 2015 – 2019

Written Total Theft of Service Criminal

Warnings Citations Citations Charges

2015 33 7 2 2
2016 49 5 5 1
2017 30 15 15 2
2018 4 5 4 1
2019 12 4 4 0
Total 128 36 30 6
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Appendix B

Overview of WSSC Police Activities by Category by Year, CY 2015 - 2019

0 Patrol Activities Investigations

C U M U LA T IV E
T OT A L
C Y 2 0 15 C Y 2 0 16 C Y 2 0 17 C Y 2 0 18 C Y 2 0 19 T OT A L C Y 2 0 15 C Y 2 0 16 C Y 2 0 17 C Y 2 0 18 C Y 2 0 19 T OT A L

Abandoned Auto 0 0 2 1 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 4
Alarms/9-11 Dsconnects 11 26 23 53 63 176 0 0 1 0 0 1 177
Alcohol Violations 2 1 1 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 5
Arson 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 3 4
Assault 2 1 1 3 2 9 2 0 3 2 3 10 19
Auto Theft/Recovery 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 1 7 7
Boating Incidents 0 2 1 2 3 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 8
Burglary 2 3 6 0 0 11 2 5 5 0 0 12 23
CDS Violation 4 2 0 0 1 7 1 1 1 0 0 3 10
Death Investigation 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 5 5
Disorderly Conduct 3 3 2 0 1 9 0 1 1 0 0 2 11
DOP/Damage to Property 23 25 36 34 21 139 8 13 12 12 8 53 192
Family Dispute 0 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Fire/Non Arson/Code Viol 7 7 5 2 4 25 0 1 1 1 1 4 29
Forgery/Fraud 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 4 4 11 11
Harassment 0 0 3 0 0 3 2 3 0 0 2 7 10
Illegal Dumping 6 3 5 10 4 28 3 1 1 5 4 14 42
Missing Person 1 3 2 0 1 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 7
Motor Vehicle Accident 12 5 1 4 2 24 1 0 2 2 1 6 30
Robbery 0 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 3
Security Breech 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 3 3
Susp. Person/veh/sit 27 23 24 15 30 119 5 0 3 3 5 16 135
Telephone Misuse 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 2
Theft 13 17 18 27 26 101 8 12 21 25 25 91 192
Theft of Service 25 91 66 46 37 265 9 11 14 9 8 51 316
Threats 2 2 9 8 6 27 4 0 10 12 7 33 60
Trespassing 51 51 65 43 43 253 2 0 1 1 2 6 259
Watershed Violation 2 12 9 8 3 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 34
Weapons Violations 6 4 9 6 7 32 0 1 0 2 1 4 36
Total 199 286 289 262 254 1290 52 54 86 81 74 347 1637

There were an additional 2,311 activities completed by the police department related to administrative or internal
non-law enforcement matters. Approximately 72% of those activities provided direct support to other units within
WSSC Water such as security assistance for water main break repairs, provision of escort for cash deposits,
lost/found property, parking policy enforcement, etc. The remaining activities performed by the department include
the assistance of other law enforcement agencies, responding to person in distress calls, summons service,
special investigations and other miscellaneous calls.
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The Honorable Marc Korman

August 11, 2020
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Appendix C

Police & Homeland Security Department Budget and Assigned Full-Time Employees, FY
2000-21

Year Name Overall Budget # of FTEs

FY 2021* Police & Homeland Security $ 6,063,378 40
FY 2020 Police & Homeland Security $ 6,050,620 40
FY 2019 Police & Homeland Security $ 5,557,088 41
FY 2018 Police & Homeland Security $ 5,403,062 41
FY 2017 Security Group $ 4,654,700 40
FY 2016 Security Group $ 4,558,700 41
FY 2015 Security & Safety Services Group $ 5,389,600 51
FY 2014 Security & Safety Services Group $ 5,276,600 53
FY 2013 Security & Safety Services Group $ 6,229,500 52
FY 2012 Security & Safety Services Group $ 5,401,500 52
FY 2011 Security & Safety Services Group $ 4,878,300 52
FY 2010 Security & Safety Services Group $ 4,770,200 51
FY 2009 Security & Safety Services Group $ 4,802,100 51
FY 2008 Security & Safety Services Group $ 4,543,100 51
FY 2007 Security & Safety Services Group $ 4,125,200 51
FY 2006 Security & Safety Services Group $ 4,379,600 60
FY 2005 Security & Safety Services Group $ 4,441,900 63
FY 2004 Security & Safety Services Group $ 4,169,800 63
FY 2003 Security & Safety Services Group $ 2,996,500 43
FY 2002 Security & Safety Services Group $ 2,246,000 39
FY 2001 Security & Safety Services Group $ 2,246,500 39
FY 2000 Security & Safety Services Group $ 2,523,900 39