page_title: Howard County Police Department
section_title: Organization
hierarchical_section_title: Howard County Police Department / Organization
caption_attribution_description: English: 2006 Bell 407 CN 53745 - State of Maryland
context_page_description: The Howard County Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency servicing 304,580 persons within the 254 square miles of Howard County, Maryland.
context_section_description: The current chief of police is Gary Gardner. The HCPD divides the county into two districts, northern and southern. The agency has the following sections
  Patrol
  K-9
  Aviation - The HCPD aviation unit operates one Bell 407 helicopter, which is shared with Anne Arundel County at the Tipton Airport. The helicopter crashed May 31, 2013 at Wilde Lake High School from a failed overspeed sensor that shut down the engine and has been restored for operations. The four people on board were uninjured. The unit also has access to Anne Arundel's three helicopters when needed.
  Emergency Services Unit
  Tactical
  Bike Patrol
  Criminal Investigations (CIB)
  Traffic Enforcement
  Youth Services
  Communications
  Auxiliary Police (Volunteers)
  Education and Training
  Warrants Division
  SWAT team
caption: 2006 Bell 407 N407HC - Owned by the State of Maryland, Operated by Howard County Police, Based in Anne Arundel County
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