Harford County Sheriff's Office

The Harford County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) is the largest sheriff's office in Maryland^[1] and is the primary law enforcement agency servicing a population of 241,402 persons within 440.35 square miles (1,140.5 km²) within Harford County, MD.^[2]

History

The HCSO was created on March 22, 1774 after an act of the Maryland General Assembly in 1773 as Baltimore County was divided in half creating the new county of Harford. Thomas Miller was appointed the first Sheriff by the Lord Proprietor of the Province, Henry Harford (the county's namesake). Although initially appointed, all subsequent Sheriffs were elected to two-year terms until 1914 when the term was extended to four years.^[3]

Organization

The current Sheriff is Jeff Gahler. The HCSO employs over 500 sworn and civilian support staff and has three basic duties: general law enforcement, court-order enforcement, and correctional services. The HCSO also has a myriad of special operations such as K-9, SWAT, and Accident Investigation among others.^[4]

In 2013, the Sheriff's office opened an aviation unit with the granting of a Bell OH-58 helicopter.^[5] In 2015 the aviation program was discounted.

Rank Structure and Insignia

Title	Insignia	Duties
Sheriff		Director of Harford County Sheriff's Office
Colonel		Deputy Director of Harford County Sheriff's Office
Major		Bureau Commander
Captain		Precinct/Division Commander
Lieutenant		Unit/Shift Commander
Sergeant		Specialty Unit/Sector Commander
Corporal		First Line Supervisor
Deputy First Class		Road Patrol, Civil Process, Court Officer
Detective
Deputy

References

↑ Harford County Sheriff‘s Office - Official Site
↑ Harford County QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau
↑ Harford County Sheriff‘s Office - Official Site
↑ Harford County Sheriff‘s Office - Official Site
↑ "Harford Sheriff's Office announces aviation unit". The Baltimore Sun. 3 December 2013.

External links

Law enforcement agencies in Maryland

State	State Police Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services - Division of Correction Transit Administration Police Transportation Authority Police Maryland Natural Resources Police

County departments	Anne Arundel Baltimore County Howard Montgomery Prince George's

Municipal departments	Aberdeen Annapolis Baltimore City Police Department Bel Air Bowie Cumberland District Heights Frederick Greenbelt Hagerstown Havre De Grace Landover Hills Laurel Ocean City Rockville Salisbury Seat Pleasant Takoma Park University Park Upper Marlboro

Sheriff's offices	Allegany Anne Arundel Baltimore City Baltimore County Calvert Caroline Carroll Cecil Charles Dorchester Frederick County Garrett Harford Howard Kent Montgomery Prince George's Queen Anne's St. Mary's Somerset Talbot Washington Wicomico Worcester

Universities	Bowie State University Frostburg State University Salisbury University Towson University University of Baltimore University of Maryland, Baltimore County University of Maryland at College Park Baltimore City Public Schools Police

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