Police Commissioner

Police Commissioner Richard Worley

Acting Police Commissioner Richard Worley

Police Commissioner Richard Worley was nominated to lead the Baltimore Police Department on June 8, 2023, by the City of Baltimore. He was confirmed on Oct. 2, 2023, and sworn in on Oct. 5, 2023. 

He joined the Baltimore Police Department in 1998 as a Police Officer Trainee. He spent his first four years with the Department as a Patrol Officer in the Western District. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2003, where he worked the midnight shift and an administrative position. In 2008, he was promoted to Lieutenant and assigned to the Northern District, where he worked patrol and operations. In 2009, he was promoted to Captain and remained in the Northern District as the Executive Officer. He was promoted to Major in 2012 and assigned as the Northeast District Commander. In 2016, he was promoted to the rank of Lt. Colonel and worked as the Assistant Chief of Patrol, the Assistant Chief of Internal Affairs, and the Chief of Homeland Security. In 2018, he was promoted to Colonel and became Chief of Patrol. In 2021, Commissioner Worley became Chief of Criminal Investigation, which included overseeing the Homicide Unit, the Citywide Robbery Unit, the Special Investigations Unit, the Anti-Crime Unit, and the Warrant Apprehension Task Force. 

In 2022, he was promoted to Deputy Commissioner of the Operations Bureau, where he oversaw Patrol, Criminal Investigation and several other units. 

Commissioner Worley has shown his commitment to his hometown law enforcement agency with more than two decades of experience in patrol, public safety and community policing. He was instrumental in formulating crime prevention/reduction strategies and strengthening community relationships.

He is also an avid baseball fan and has served as an authenticator of merchandise for Major League Baseball. 

Commissioner Worley received his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Oklahoma City University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. He is a graduate of the Maryland Police Training Commission and is a Police Executive Research Forum/Senior Management Institute for Police Graduate. 

He has received multiple awards and honors, including the Mayor’s Certificate for Community Engagement, Councilman Brandon Scott’s Dedicated Service Award, Special Commendation for Performance in the Riots of 2015, and the Maryland Delegate’s Citation for Positive Role Model. He was the Incident Commander and oversaw the successful planning and deployment during the 2020 nationwide unrest, where BPD was recognized as being one of the few large departments that handled the protests well.  

Commissioner Worley is married, has two adult children and two grandchildren, and is a native of Pigtown in Southwest Baltimore.

You may view the latest BPD Organizational Chart on our About The Department page.