The Anne Arundel County Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency of

Anne Arundel County, Maryland Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, whi ...

, United States, serving a population of more than 564,195 per 2015 census estimates across of jurisdiction. The Department was created by an Act of the

Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamb ...

in 1937, and originally consisted of a

Chief of Police Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

, three

sergeants Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

, and seventeen patrolmen. , the department is staffed by approximately 770 sworn officers and more than 200 civilian members, including

chaplains A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intelligence ...

, crime scene technicians, animal control officers, communications call-takers and dispatchers, and volunteer "reserve officers" under the leadership of Chief of Police, Amal Awad. The Anne Arundel County Police Department has been internationally accredited through the

Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) is a credentialing authority (accreditation), based in the United States, whose primary mission is to accredit public safety agencies, namely law enforcement agencies, trai ...

since July 30, 1994.

Facilities

The Anne Arundel County Police Department is divided into four police districts, Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern. The Northern District Station is located in Brooklyn Park, Eastern District is in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

, Western District is in Odenton, and Southern District is in Edgewater. Additional facilities are the Police Department Headquarters in Millersville, the Special Operations Division Complex in Millersville, the K-9 center in Millersville, the Criminal Investigation Division in Millersville and the Police Training Academy in Davidsonville. The agency also has several sub-stations at various locations throughout the county, including one at Arundel Mills Mall.

Community Relations

The section provides community service-oriented support in the areas of crime prevention and community relations, provides a variety of educational and community-based recreational youth programs and oversees the department’s volunteer program and the Office of the Chaplain. The section serves as a direct liaison with community groups to foster a better working relationship between the department and the communities.

Crime Prevention

Through its Crime Prevention Unit, the section provides support and subject matter expertise in the area of crime prevention and avoidance. It conducts crime avoidance surveys for businesses and residences, and oversees neighborhood watch programs. The Crime Prevention Unit also manages the department’s volunteer Reserve Officer program, the Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) program, and the Office of the Chaplain. The Office of the Chaplain provides counseling and spiritual support to Department employees.

Special Operations

The Special Operations Division includes the Quick Response Team (QRT/SWAT TEAM), K-9 Unit, Traffic Safety Section, and Aviation Unit. QRT and K9 provide tactical support for a variety of department activities including patrol operations, high-risk warrant service, selective patrol and narcotics operations, dignitary protection, and response to hostage, barricade, and terrorist incidents. The Traffic Safety Section is responsible for investigating all life threatening and fatal traffic crashes. This Section also manages several traffic related programs and handles all escorts. The Aviation Unit provides aerial tactical support of ground units including traffic enforcement, aerial observation and pursuits, missing persons, search and rescue, tactical patrol operations, and extraordinary police incidents.

Communications

Anne Arundel County operates an 800 MHz

trunked radio system A trunked radio system is a two-way radio system that uses a control channel to automatically assign frequency channels to groups of user radios. In a traditional half-duplex land mobile radio system a group of users (a ''talkgroup'') with mobi ...

for all county police, fire and DPW communications. Broadcasts are currently

digital communications Data transmission and data reception or, more broadly, data communication or digital communications is the transfer and reception of data in the form of a digital bitstream or a digitized analog signal transmitted over a point-to-point or ...

for law enforcement; however fire, DPW and other users are still analog as of April 12, 2019. A new radio system is currently being installed and eventually all users will be digital.

Body Worn Cameras

The Anne Arundel County Police Department began the requisition process for the Axon III body worn camera system in July 2020. As of September of 2021, all uniformed officers have been trained in the use of, and are required to wear their issued body worn camera while on duty.

Weapons

Handguns

All sworn officers are issued a Glock 17 or 19 9mm as the primary sidearm. The department previously carried

Sig Sauer P229 Sig used as a name may refer to: * Sig (given name) *Sig, Algeria, a city on the banks of the Sig River *Sig Alert, an alert for traffic congestion in California, named after Loyd Sigmon *Sig River, a river of Algeria also known as Mekerra sig (l ...

and transitioned in 2019.

Long guns

Remington 870 The Remington Model 870 is a pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, LLC. It is widely used by the public for shooting sports, hunting and self-defense, as well as by law enforcement and military organizations worldwide. De ...

shotguns and

AR-15 An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation d ...

rifles are issued on each patrol shift.

Other

ASP baton Armament Systems and Procedures, Inc. (ASP, Inc.) is a US defensive compliance weapons manufacturer providing equipment to law enforcement and private security companies. ASP telescoping batons are widely used. History * 1976—company founded ...

, O.C. spray and

Taser A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate people, allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner. It is sold by Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed darts intended to ...

s are issued to all officers. The department is in the process of transitioning from TASER X26P to the new TASER 7. "

Less lethal Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than conventional ...

" beanbag shotguns are issued on each shift for de-escalation in unavoidable use of force encounters. Vehicles include marked and unmarked Ford models including Taurus Interceptors, Utility Interceptors, and

F-150 The Ford F-Series is a series of light-duty trucks marketed and manufactured by Ford since the 1948 model year. Slotted above the Ford Ranger in the Ford truck model range, the F-Series is marketed as a range of full-sized pickup trucks. ...

trucks. The department also utilizes a variety of covert vehicles for special assignments.

Rank structure

The Department uses the following rank structure:

Past chiefs

References

External links

Official WebsiteDetailed History of the Anne Arundel County, MD Police Department
{{Authority control 1937 establishments in Maryland

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

County police departments of Maryland