Special Operations Division

LTC Z. Hamlin, Division Chief
Contact: Pam Walls (301)-952-7058

The Special Operations Division is comprised of two sections: Regional Processing and Tactical Operations.

Computerization has made inmate processing faster and more accurate	Emergency Response Team

Regional Processing Section

The Department of Corrections Regional Processing has three sites in Prince George’s County—one in Hyattsville (Prince George’s County Police District I Headquarters), one in Oxon Hill (Prince George’s County Police District IV Headquarters), and one at the Correctional Center in Upper Marlboro.

The purpose of the Regional Processing initiative is to have specially trained correctional officers process the booking of arrestees at these sites in order to allow police officers to return to their patrol duties more timely. This initiative has been successful in that police officers are returning to their patrol duties within approximately one hour of making an arrest instead of the four to six hours it took to complete the booking process prior to the Regional Processing initiative’s implementation in 1997.

Correctional Officers at these sites handle all processing duties, including fingerprinting, photographing, checking criminal histories, commissioner presentations, and warrant service on location. In 2003, approximately 1,750 persons were processed each month at the regional sites. Also, that year a total of 12,056 warrants were served at these three sites.

For further information, please contact:
Regional Processing Section Chief at 301-952-7023

Tactical Operations

This section of the Special Operations Division oversees the management and operations of the Emergency Response Team, the K-9 Unit, Transportation Unit, as well as Central Control. This section is also responsible for maintaining the armory, managing hostage negotiations preparedness, providing personnel for hospital duty as needed, and overseeing activities of the Department of Corrections’ Honor Guard.

Correctional officers in this section receive highly specialized training to ensure their skills and abilities are unique to their particular distinctive unit or duty.

For further information, please contact:
Tactical Operations Section Chief at 301-952-7268