State of Maryland

SLE 0008

SKILLED SERVICE      BARGAINING UNIT: S      OVERTIME ELIGIBLE

An Enforcement Agent Lead is the supervisory level of enforcement and regulatory work in the Field Enforcement Division (FED) of the Office of the Executive Director (OED) for the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission (ATC) or the Field Enforcement Bureau (FEB) of the Comptroller of Maryland (COM). Employees in this classification are responsible for assessing and enforcing compliance with the business laws and revenue laws and encouraging compliance with regulations pertaining to commodity goods or products produced from commodity materials and subjected to an excise tax, sales tax, special tax or income tax administered by the State. Employees in this classification are required to develop and implement strategies for investigations and surveillances as well as operational plans for arrests, search warrant executions and enforcement activities. Employees are responsible for performing office administrative functions including review and approval of all reports and documents relating to the activities of Field Enforcement Agents or other FED or FEB employees, coordinating with outside administrative and regulatory agencies, state’s attorneys’ offices and the courts, training police officers both within their home agency and other police agencies throughout the State, attending professional conferences and addressing related professional organizations at such conferences and may also be required to attend meetings of the Maryland General Assembly of the State of Maryland and/or legislative committee meetings to monitor activities relative to matters of interest to their home agency and reporting findings or making recommendations to the Agent in Charge or the Division Director. Employees in this classification supervise lower-level Field Enforcement Agents.

Employees in this classification receive managerial supervision from an Agent Administrator or other higher-level civilian administrators in the office of their home agency of Maryland. Employees are on call 24 hours a day and may be required to travel to designated areas throughout the State and outside the State. Employees in this classification may be assigned to daytime, evening, or night shifts, which may include weekends and holidays. Employees frequently perform duties outdoors in all types of weather where conditions may be hazardous, dirty and/or uncomfortable. The work may require lifting heavy objects such as, but not limited to, cases of alcoholic beverages, cases of tobacco products, containers of motor fuel, containers of commodity products, boxes of records, restraining violent individuals, climbing, running, stooping and bending.

Positions in this classification are evaluated using the classification job evaluation methodology. The use of this method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work sections of the class specification.
The Field Enforcement Agent Lead is differentiated from the Field Enforcement Agent in that the Enforcement Agent Lead has supervisory responsibility for lower-level Enforcement Agents and civilian personnel while Enforcement Agents perform the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision. The Enforcement Agent Lead is differentiated from the Field Agent Administrator I in that the Field Agent Administrator I directs all activities of the Field Operations and Administrative Services Bureaus, Section, Unit or other large agency sub-organization and has supervisory responsibility for Enforcement Agent Leads.

Supervises the work of lower-level Enforcement Agents and civilian personnel;

Reviews investigation reports from lower-level Enforcement Agents and determines the merits of arrest and prosecution;

Evaluates all completed case reports for content and accuracy for presentation to administrative bodies such as local liquor control boards, and local, State, and federal prosecutors to be used in court and administrative proceedings;

Keeps statistical data for annual reports and F.B.I. required reporting data;

Provides supervision and administrative direction in the investigations of criminal and regulatory activities involving alcohol, tobacco products, commodity products, transient vendors and alcohol and tobacco taxes administered by the State;

Reviews intelligence reports submitted by field enforcement agents and makes recommendations as to the continued status of ongoing investigations;

Leads and participates in undercover and surveillance operations directing the agents and activities during the operations and arrests of felony suspects;

Leads in the collection of evidence, chain of custody, arrests, and interviews and interrogations of suspects;

Makes recommendations to the Agent Administrator or the Division Director on trends for future enforcement efforts based on review and evaluation of data gathered by field operatives;

Participates and maintains supervisory control of traffic stops of violators and their subsequent arrest as well as searches of persons and vehicles incident to that action;

Participates in searches and seizures of contraband alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, commodity products, and related documents and paraphernalia;

Acts as liaison to the District Court and State’s Attorney’s offices to ensure proper coordination of case prosecution including appearances by Agents for preliminary and trial proceedings;

Prepares schedules for daily operations, special operations and long-term investigations including court and vacation schedules;

Updates daily work schedule occasionally to accommodate changes necessitated by manpower requirements for specialized investigations, Circuit and District Court appearances and responses to citizen complaints and those generated by allied agencies;

Provides direction in the inspections of alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, commodity products, tax records, licenses, invoices and other documents for the purpose of detecting fraud and assessing compliance with State and federal laws and regulations;

Interacts with violators and purchases contraband for use in criminal prosecutions;

Prepares and reviews search and seizure warrants and participates in raids and arrest of violators;

Testifies at criminal court, liquor board and administrative hearings;

Assists in the coordination of enforcement activities with federal, State, and local law enforcement officers;

Participates in task forces with federal, State, and local law enforcement officers;

Ensures proper collection and submission of Uniform Crime Reports to the agency coordinator;

Assists in accounting for and properly documenting the storage of all confiscated property to include evidence, motor vehicles, and currency and ensures proper written notification of owners of such seizures;

Reviews for accuracy and coordinates dissemination of State and F.B.I. fingerprint records to the State central repository within the prescribed time frames;

Assigns and tracks the status of routine complaints handles by Field Enforcement Agents;

Conducts in-service training;

Prepares comprehensive reports and works within various computer software programs and criminal history software, i.e. CJIS, N.C.I.C, METERS, Courts, M.V.A., Faces of the Nation, along with working software such as Microsoft Word;

Issues stop sales orders and warnings to transient vendors, retailers and distributors who are not in compliance with inspection criteria;

Issues citations to transient vendors and licensees who are not in compliance with State laws and regulations;

Advises transient vendors, retailers and distributors regarding the interpretation and application of applicable alcohol, tobacco and cannabis taxes, fees, licensing and inspection laws, rules and regulations;

Performs visual and chemical tests of alcoholic beverages to detect unlawful practices;

Collects documents and records;

Attends legislative hearings and other related proceedings to monitor and analyze the status of pending legislation or law changes which could impact the operation of the ATC;

Makes recommendations to the Agent Administrator or the Division Director relative to the potential effect of such legislation or proposed law changes;

Attends professional organization meetings and seminars relating to enforcement activity and current investigative trends;
Addresses allied professional and government organizations on the current status of Maryland enforcement activity;

Conducts training for police officers and investigators both on the recruit and in-service levels at various police academies throughout the State;

Assists in instruction of Enforcement Agents to complete in-service training as mandated by the Maryland Police and Corrections Training Commission;

Conducts periodic documented inspections of Enforcement Agent’s equipment, firearms and assigned vehicles to ensure proper function and maintenance;

Prepares mid-year and annual personnel evaluations and conducts performance evaluation meetings with Field Enforcement Agents;

Ensures that arrestees are checked through the Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement;

May require operating a police vehicle at high speeds and making felony traffic stops and arrests;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of the principles and techniques of criminal investigation;

Knowledge of Maryland laws and regulations pertaining to the licensing, possession, transportation and storage of commodity goods or products produced from commodity materials and subjected to an excise tax or special tax administered by the State

Knowledge of revenue laws pertaining to alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, commodity products, motor fuels, transient vendors and other taxes administered by the State of Maryland;

Knowledge of court procedures;

Knowledge of basic management and supervisory techniques;

Skill in the use of firearms, vehicles, technical equipment, communication devices, and police related tools and equipment;

Skill in calculating tax receipts and related records;

Ability to evaluate intelligence data and formulate plans for enhanced enforcement efficiency;

Ability to plan and supervise criminal investigations and enforcement activities;

Ability to develop and maintain good working relationships with other law enforcement agencies;

Ability to prepare detailed reports;

Ability to train new employees in criminal investigation techniques and pertinent enforcement activities;

Ability to evaluate evidence for legal sufficiency;

Ability to present testimony in courts and administrative hearings on behalf of the State;

Ability to communicate effectively with representatives of the industry, owners, managers and licensees;

Ability to evaluate information presented in legislative committee meetings and make recommendations based on those evaluations to the Agent in Charge or the Division Director;

Ability to address meetings of related professional organizations on the status of enforcement efforts and investigative activities in the State of Maryland;

Ability to train other police officers both within their home agency and those of allied agencies on laws and regulations enforced by the state as they relate to the regulated industries involved;

Ability to effectively manage, communicate with, and supervise agents under the prescribed span of responsibility.

Education: Graduation from an accredited high school or possession of a high school equivalency certificate as described in the Maryland Police Training Commission regulation.

Experience: Five years of experience as a police officer investigating crimes including motor vehicle accidents and responding to emergency calls for police services or as an Enforcement Agent responsible for assessing and enforcing compliance to laws and regulations pertaining to commodity products such as, but not limited to, alcoholic beverage, tobacco products and related revenue laws and regulations.

Notes:

1. The above education requirement is set by the Maryland Police Training Commission in accordance with Public Safety Article, Section 3-209.

2. Applicants may substitute additional education in criminal justice or law enforcement, at an accredited college or university, at a rate of 30 credit hours for each six months of the required experience for a maximum of two years of the required experience.

3. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a non-commissioned officer in general inspection, investigation, enforcement, and compliance classification or general inspection, investigation, enforcement, and compliance specialty codes in the logistics field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required experience.

1. Employees in this classification may be assigned duties which require the operation of a motor vehicle. Employees assigned such duties will be required to possess a motor vehicle operator’s license valid in the State of Maryland.

2. Employees in this classification must have successfully completed the Entrance Level Police Training Course and hold a current certification by the Maryland Police Training Commission.

3. After training, employees in this classification will be required to maintain periodic certification of essential marksmanship in the firing of a handgun or other firearms that may be necessary to carry out assignments.

1. Selection standards for police officer certification are established by the Maryland Police Training Commission in accordance with Public Safety Article, Section 3-209 of the Annotated Code of Maryland. These selection criteria are listed in detail in the Code of Maryland Regulations Title 12, Subtitle 04, Chapter 01 and include the following:

Appointment as a police officer;

U.S. Citizenship;

A complete background investigation;

Oral interview;

Physical examination;

Possession of a driver’s license valid in the State of Maryland.

2. Employees in this classification are subject to call 24 hours a day and must provide the agency with a telephone number where they can be reached.

3. Employees in this classification are subject to substance abuse testing in accordance with Code of Maryland Regulations 17.04.09, Testing for Illegal Use of Drugs.

4. Employees in this classification may be required to bear firearms and to demonstrate practical knowledge and proficiency in the safe use and care of firearms on a periodic basis.

5. Employees in this classification may be subject to assignment in any area of the State.

6. Employees in this classification may be subject to long hours of driving to out of State locations.

7. Employees in this classification may be subject to extended workdays on a regular basis.

Class specifications are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies. Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

This is a Skilled Service classification in the State Personnel Management System. All positions in this classification are Skilled Service positions. Some positions in Skilled Service classifications may be designated Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.

This classification is not assigned to a bargaining unit, as indicated by the designation of S (Supervisor), M (Manager), T (Agency Head), U (Board or Commission Member), W (Student), X (Used by Agency or Excluded by Executive Order), or Z (Confidential). As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, managerial and confidential employees are excluded collective bargaining. Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.

Employees in this classification are eligible to receive overtime compensation. An employee who works more than the normal workweek is entitled to be compensated for that overtime, as provided by the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 8-305.

July 1, 2021

December 13, 2024

Director, Division of Classification and Salary