Ocean City Police Department will have enough manpower ahead of tourist season
OCEAN CITY, Md. – The Ocean City Police Department is on track for seasonal staffing this upcoming summer season. In the past, the department hired seasonal police officers every summer to prepare for the spike in tourist season.
In 2025, they did not have the funding needed for seasonal officers. The Ocean City Police Department is transitioning to hiring seasonal public safety officers instead.
The PSO workers do not have arrest powers, but can help sworn in police officers with things like municipal citations and fender benders.
Historically, the department hires seasonal workers during the winter months and recruits from as far north as New York, and as far south as North Carolina.
Communications Manager Ashley Miller said posting applications online has brought an influx of potential hires.
“If you are interested in working for the Ocean City Police Department in summer 2026, we actually have an in-person testing coming up on January 31st for public safety officers only. So if you’re looking at a summer job – check our website at join ocpddotcom – you can learn about the job and what the hiring requirements are, and follow the link to go head and start the application.”
Miller tells WMDT at the last testing date in December, there were about 29 applicants. 14 of whom looked to become full-time officers, and 15, who were interested in becoming public safety officers.
The department is aiming to hire at least 70 seasonal workers this summer. So far, 120 has applied, but Miller tells us that number will decrease through the hiring filtering process.
