Harford County Sheriff's Office

The Harford County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) is the largest sheriff's office in Maryland[1][2] and is the primary law enforcement agency servicing a population of 241,402 people within 440.35 square miles (1,140.5 km2) within Harford County, Maryland.[3]

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.[4]

In 2016, the Sheriff's Office joined ICE's 287(g) program.[5]

In 2022, Harford County deputies fatally shot a suicidal man: under state law, police killings must be investigated by the state attorney general's office. The attorney general stated that Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler was impeding the investigation, and was eventually forced to obtain a restraining order against him so the investigation could continue.[6][7]

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.[8]

In 2013, the sheriff's office opened an aviation unit with the granting of a Bell OH-58 helicopter.[9] In 2015 the aviation program was discontinued.

Rank structure and insignia

Title Insignia Duties
Sheriff
The sheriff is the Director of Harford County Sheriff's Office
Colonel
The colonel is Deputy Director of Harford County Sheriff's Office
Major
Majors are Bureau Chiefs
Captain
Captains are Precinct/Division Commanders
Lieutenant
Lieutenants are Unit/Shift Commanders
Sergeant
Sergeants are Specialty Unit/Sector Commanders
Corporal
Corporals are First Line Supervisors
Deputy first class
Deputy first class are usually assigned to Road Patrol, Civil Process, or as Court Officers
Detective
Deputy

See also

References

  1. ^ "250th Anniversary of Harford Sheriff Office to be Focus of Open House". 20 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Harford County Sheriff's Office - Official Site". Archived from the original on 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  3. ^ "Harford County QuickFacts" from the U.S. Census Bureau Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Harford County Sheriff's Office - Official Site". Archived from the original on 2007-11-01. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  5. ^ Gill, Lauren (18 June 2019). "Suicides, ICE Cooperation, and Racism Allegations at Maryland Jail". The Appeal. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  6. ^ "AG: Harford County Sheriff's Office interfering in investigation into deputy shooting". WBAL. 2022-04-26. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  7. ^ Thompson, Steve; Wiggins, Ovetta (2022-04-28). "Judge orders sheriff to comply with Md. authorities in shooting probe". Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
  8. ^ Harford County Sheriff‘s Office - Official Site[permanent dead link‍]
  9. ^ "Harford Sheriff's Office announces aviation unit". The Baltimore Sun. 3 December 2013.