The Bel Air Police Department (BAPD) is a full-service agency servicing the incorporated

Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of Bel Air, Maryland. The department is located in the Harford

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Bel Air at 39 North Hickory Avenue, Bel Air,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

21014. BAPD is Bel Air's primary

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...

agency which was established in 1874.

Chief

Charles A. Moore Overseeing the department is Charles Moore, lifelong Harford County resident and former Maryland State Police captain.

Divisions

The department consists of the following Divisions & Specialized Units: * Patrol * Criminal Investigations Division * Narcotics Task Force* * K-9 * SWAT* * Training Division * Community / School Policing * Honor Guard * Communications * Records * Parking Enforcement * Cadet Program * Auxiliary Unit * Explorer Post #9010 *The

Narcotics The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "to make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

Task Force &

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

Team are both multi-jurisdictional and composed of members from the Bel Air Police Department and other local police agencies.

Fleet

The Bel Air Police Department utilizes a patrol fleet of

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

Impalas, Chevy Trailblazers and Chevy Tahoes. Motorcycle:

Harley Davidson Harley may refer to: People * Harley (given name) * Harley (surname) Places * Harley, Ontario, a township in Canada * Harley, Brant County, Ontario, Canada * Harley, Shropshire, England * Harley, South Yorkshire, England * Harley Street, in Lo ...

Electra Glide. Incident Command Vehicle: Ford E350. In the fall of 2012, the Bel Air Police Department began purchasing Ford Police Interceptors which are now built with the Taurus

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

and body. With the new vehicles, BAPD also changed the color scheme to black with white lettering, different from the traditional white with green stripes. See picture.

Rank structure and insignia

To promote within the department, members must perform a written exam and an oral board. Based on scores in both categories, a member will be selected for the open position. The process is similar for lateral positions, i.e.

Detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

, Community Police Officer, K-9 Handler, etc. Below are sworn personnel ranks used by the Bel Air Police Department. The rank insignia are worn on the collar, or the sleeve just below the department patch. Although not currently in use, the department also recognizes the lieutenant rank.

Website

The official site of the BAPD
www.belairmd.org/departments/police.asp

References

External links

{{Coord, 39, 32, 19.69, N, 76, 20, 53.76, W, type:adm2nd_source:dewiki, display=title Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland Municipal police departments of Maryland 1874 establishments in Maryland