Harford County Sheriff's Office

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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, the Right Honorable 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, a SCUBA team, 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
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Director of Harford County Sheriff's Office
Colonel
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Deputy Director of Harford County Sheriff's Office
Major
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Bureau Commander
Captain
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Precinct/Division Commander
Lieutenant
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Unit/Shift Commander
Sergeant
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Specialty Unit/Sector Commander
Corporal
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First Line Supervisor
Deputy First Class
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Road Patrol, Civil Process, Court Officer
Detective
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Deputy
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See also

References

External links