About Us

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Police Chief Gregory Der is a 25-year veteran of Maryland law enforcement. After spending more than 19 years as a member of the Howard County Police Department, he retired to become the Chief Deputy at the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s office. He was appointed Howard County Chief of Police by County Executive Calvin Ball in January 2022.
 
As a tenured police executive, Chief Der has experience in roles ranging from patrol-level enforcement to command administration. In his most recent role with the Maryland State Fire Marshal, he oversaw both operations and administrative functions. Chief Der has an established track record fostering collaborative relationships among officers, supervisors, community members, civilian workers, union leadership, and elected officials. 
 
Chief Der is a seasoned investigator with two decades of investigative experience at local, state, and federal task force levels. He is committed to community policing and is skilled at respectful, productive engagement and responsiveness to citizen concerns. Chief Der also has experience as a negotiator who has managed mediation between competing interests and articulated policy for varied stakeholders. 
 
Chief Der served as Chief Deputy for the Maryland State Fire Marshal from 2017 to 2021. During those years, he was the highest-ranked sworn member of the agency. He oversaw budget planning; managed employees at six regional offices across Maryland; coordinated fire, arson and explosive investigations; created policy; and oversaw fire prevention efforts and data collection.
 
During his nearly two decades with the Howard County Police Department, Chief Der served for eight years as the President of the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 21. In that role, he represented interests of the membership, and articulated issues related to training, morale, equipment, disciplinary matters, grievances, and promotional processes. He oversaw contract negotiations to enhance public safety efforts and foster a positive work environment for officers.
 
His time at the HCPD also included his work as a task force investigator for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), a property crimes detective, hostage negotiator, school resource officer (SRO) and patrol officer. Chief Der served in the narcotics and patrol sections of the Easton Police Department from 1997-1998.
 
A Howard County native, Chief Der graduated from Mt. Hebron High School. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership from The Johns Hopkins University, an Associate of Arts in Criminal Justice from Carroll Community College, and is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police.

Our core values at the Howard County Police Department are Integrity, Pride and Community. You’ll see those words on our patch logo displayed throughout the agency. You’ll also see them in our actions day in and day out.

It is the mission of the Howard County Police Department to provide a secure environment for the citizens of Howard County by protecting life and property, reducing the opportunity for crime and disorder, enforcing the law, assisting victims and providing other police-related services as required by the community in a manner consistent with the values of a free society. HCPD embraces the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police. We are committed to resolving problems collaboratively through a partnership between the department and our community.

Our Values

Integrity: The department and its personnel can only succeed in their mission if we maintain our integrity. Our authority to deprive people of their life, freedom and property comes from the trust bestowed upon us. Once this trust is broken, by an individual or by the department, our actions are rightfully called into question. The department and its employees must hold themselves to a standard that is beyond reproach.

Pride: The department is a proud institution and works to develop this pride in its sworn, civilian and volunteer personnel. We are proud of our rich tradition of providing quality police services to the residents and visitors of Howard County. We are proud to be a part of a noble profession that is called upon to maintain order in a free society. We are proud of the real partnerships we have with the people we serve. We are proud of the highly motivated, highly trained, and highly respected personnel we have.

Community: The cornerstone of this department is the relationship we have with the community we serve. Our ability to be effective in carrying out our mission is based on the credibility we have with the community. Understanding that we are a part of, and not separate from, the community is critical. Although we are granted full-time responsibility for policing the community, we cannot do it without the approval and cooperation of the public. The department strives to enhance this relationship in several ways: By ensuring that each police contact is carried out fairly and with respect; by seeking input from the public on our programs, procedures and priorities; and by being active in community programs and charities.

A note about community-oriented policing: The paradigm of community-oriented policing began to evolve within law enforcement communities during the 1970s in response to increasing crime rates throughout the nation; the failure of other, more traditional, police programs; and the rapid deterioration of many neighborhoods. Community-oriented policing is an organizational philosophy with a decentralized approach aimed at reducing crime and improving the quality of life within a community. It is a team-oriented approach to problem solving with the police and members of the community working together, on an equal basis, toward a common goal. The Howard County Department of Police is committed to this philosophy and supports programs that reflect these values.

Department-wide Goals & Objectives 

• Enhance agency responsiveness by making full use of the recently approved patrol strength increase and reducing response times to priority one calls for service. 
• Continue implementation of all provisions of newly passed and updated police reform legislation.
• Build upon community engagement by pursuing strong partnerships with a wide variety of community organizations. 
• Invest in improved training of personnel in all areas of the Department. 
• Continue focusing on competitively recruiting, training, and retaining the highest-caliber candidates possible.
• Strengthen the Department's technological capabilities by evaluating current system suitability and any upgrade or replacement needs. 
• Emphasize officer moral and mental health, with recognition that officer wellness is closely related to job performance and attrition. 
• Conduct a comprehensive review of HCPD's fleet assets with a view toward fuel savings, decreased carbon emissions, and less downtime/ maintenance costs. 

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The Howard County Department of Police obtained national accreditation from The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc., known as CALEA, on July 28, 1990. Re-accreditation has since been earned ten times, without lapse or conditions. The department had the honor of being named a Flagship Agency in both 2006 and 2009, a prestigious designation when the Commission offered this category.  The agency was last recognized on November 17, 2022.

It is an honor to achieve this status within the law enforcement community and we proudly display the CALEA emblem. The standards established by CALEA help law enforcement agencies strengthen crime prevention and control capabilities, formalize essential management procedures, establish fair and nondiscriminatory personnel practices, improve service-delivery, solidify interagency cooperation and coordination, and boost citizen and staff confidence in the agency.

In between on-site Assessment, the department submits an annual compliance report and undergoes off-site review of standards by the Commission.

Members of the public wishing to provide comments regarding HCPD’s compliance with CALEA standards, engagement in the service community, delivery of public safety services, and overall candidacy for accredited status may do so at the public portal. These comments can be in the form of commendations or concerns. The overall intent of the accreditation process is to provide the participating agency with information to support continuous improvement, as well as foster the pursuit of professional excellence.

Comments can be made on the CALEA website. 

2022 Annual Report

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2021 Annual Report	2020 Annual Report	2019 Annual Report	2018 Annual Report

The Howard County Police Department remains committed to a culture of transparency, accountability and responsive community policing. We are facing an unprecedented time, when public confidence in law enforcement is understandably influenced by events throughout the nation. Agencies at all levels are analyzing best practices and possibilities for their jurisdictions.

In the interest of ease and transparency, we have compiled the following information:

• simple data chart that includes overall information about HCPD;
• data sheets with demographics;
• topical information sheets;
• full 2022 Annual Community Policing Report; and
• link to the full 2022 HCPD Annual Report.

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1965: Emma (Mott) Young, was the first African-American employee hired by the police department in 1965. She later had a distinguished career with the Maryland State Police, from where she retired, before later returning to Howard County to work in the North Laurel community policing office.

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1968: Lt. Herman Charity (retired) was the first African-American cadet in 1968 and first African-American police officer in 1970. He retired as a lieutenant in Internal Affairs in 1998.

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1968: Joan Cook, hired in 1968, provided administrative support for nearly every police chief in HCPD’s history and is the longest-tenured employee in history. She retired in 2017 after more than 48 years of service.

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1984: Lt. Karen (Mathews) Burnett (retired) became the first African-American female police officer in 1984. She retired at the rank of lieutenant in 2014 while serving in the information and technology division.

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1991: The late Capt. Richard Hall was the first African-American officer promoted to the rank of captain in 1991. He retired as commander of the Management Services Bureau in 2002.

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2004: Capt. Tara Nelson (retired) was the first African-American female promoted to the rank of captain in 2004. She retired in 2009 as the commander of criminal investigations.

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2007: Major Kevin Burnett (retired) was the first African-American promoted to the rank of deputy chief in 2007. He retired in 2008 and now works for the Howard County Board of Education as director of school security.

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2019: Chief Lisa Myers (retired) was sworn-in as the first African-American and female police chief. She began her career in 1990 as a civilian crime lab technician and entered the police academy in 1994. She retired in 2018 as the captain of the human resources bureau and returned as Chief of Police from 2019-2021.