By Kenneth C. Rossignol

ST. MARY’S TODAY

LA PLATA --- In just over six weeks Col. Thomas E. "Tim" Hutchins has covered a lot of ground as he has converted from being the Governor’s secretary of veterans affairs to return to the Maryland State Police as superintendent, an agency he retired from in 1994.

What became the worst appointment of Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich’s year-long administration is likely to turn around to become his best as Hutchins has taken over for the now indicted Edward Norris, accused of sloshing through a Baltimore City slush fund.

Norris made a lot of changes in the State Police, with very few of them either making sense or making anyone happy.

Hutchins has emerged from the Governor’s Office with a charge to take charge and like the good soldier he is, Col. Hutchins, also a good politician, has set out to keep the good rapport he enjoys with the General Assembly, where he was elected three times from Charles County to serve, and earn the support of the men and women of his agency, while providing leadership for the state-wide law enforcement effort.

A tough job for anyone, but for Hutchins, the role is as comfortable as old shoes.

A no-nonsense veteran of the agency, where he retired from as commander of the training academy, Hutchins carries himself with a proper military bearing for a para-military organization such as the State Police.

But with a genuine and sincere approach to issues of homeland security, fighting the continuing problem of illicit narcotics and attempting to rein in the free-for-all which area highways have evolved to are all front and center on the new superintendent’s plate.

Contrasted with the seedy antics of his predecessor, this new superintendent ought to be wining his boss praise and support for having turned to back to the agency for leadership.

One of Hutchins first acts was to create an assessment team to reach out across the state and examine the status of the agency and to report back to him what the agency is doing and make recommendations on where it should go.

While Norris ripped apart the structure of the state police in his 11 months in office, placing a number of his political and police cronies from New York and Baltimore in strategic positions, Hutchins, in an interview last week, didn’t commit to reversing those actions, but instead said he would wait until his assessment team had completed their task to take action.

Hutchins said he had conducted a command staff meeting held at the Anne Arundel County Community College last Tuesday at which he charged the management of the agency at the barracks level to look at how they are providing police services from traffic to criminal investigations, homeland security and intra and interstate crime.

Hutchins emphasized that he will work with local law enforcement agencies such as Charles County where he signed a memorandum of understanding with Charles County Sheriff Fred Davis on Wednesday, detailing how both agencies will work together to cooperate and avoid duplication of services.

"We have exceptional state police resources such as our crime lab and the ability to draw together a large number of investigators quickly," said Hutchins. "Whether we are the principal agency or assisting a local agency, we can draw on our statewide resources. We are not a county or city department as we have multiple responsibilities."

Hutchins said that the newly created division of Homeland Security will remain in place and said that the troopers assigned to it are not "hiding out" but instead are working hard to prevent any further attacks on America.

"We have to remember that the worst attack on our nation took place with people who were living right in this state, right under our noses, using our local airport to train to fly, staying in motels right here, eating in restaurants and driving on our roads," said Hutchins. "That gives a lot of opportunity for our personnel to come in contact with them and they are still here and it is up to us to work with the public to find them."

Hutchins said that a Maryland State Trooper had stopped the 9/11 hijacker who was the pilot of the plane, which crashed in Pennsylvania, on I-95. When the rental car was found, the ticket from the trooper was still in the trunk of the car.

"Homeland security is nothing but good police work," said Hutchins, "and we all benefit from that. When our troopers are solving crimes and putting the pieces to puzzles together we are making our community and our nation safer."

"We work every tip, every one passes through the hands of a supervisor," said Hutchins.

Drawing on his own experience as a road trooper, Hutchins said that you just never know what a traffic stop will turn into. He said that a traffic stop he conducted was on one of the top KGB agents in the nation, during the Cold War.

"We are learning that dealing with terrorists is no different than dealing with criminals," said Hutchins. "The public needs to call 800-492-TIPS with anything they think is out of the ordinary."

The Colonel has spent a lot of time on our area roadways without the benefit of red lights and sirens to get him through the congestion, as he traveled back and forth from La Plata to Annapolis and he is supportive of efforts to move the flow, through highway improvements and advancing the day commuter rail comes to Southern Maryland.

"We have taken great strides in bringing commuter buses, and commuter bus lanes may be next, with rail a logical step," said Hutchins.

Increased enforcement activities on the Rt. 4, Rt. 235/Rt. 5 corridors will be coordinated with barrack commanders and local agencies, said Hutchins, in an effort to confront the aggressive drivers, drunk drivers, speeders and red light runners who have been sending fatal accident rates soaring.

Addressing the short staffing of the local Southern Maryland Barracks in Prince Frederick, La Plata and Leonardtown is important to Hutchins, who acknowledged that the area is the fastest growing in the state and has lower staffing than 30 years ago.

"We have 100 less troopers in the agency than we did when I retired in 1994," said Hutchins. "We have a new academy class of 61 troopers coming out now and will be asking the Governor and the Assembly for funding for more troopers, we hope to have a new class underway quickly."

"The Governor has given me some latitude," said Hutchins. "Certainly I am concerned about staffing levels, retirements have hit us hard."