The Howard County Police Department will receive two awards in recognition of incorporating effective crime prevention programs as an integral part of an overall community policing initiative and violent crime reduction effort.
The Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth and Victim Services will recognize the outstanding public safety initiatives undertaken in Howard County. The awards cover the 2021 calendar year as the formal recognition was delayed due to pandemic-related restrictions.
The Chief of Police, Gregory Der showed his appreciation for the acknowledgment.
Community policing is at the core of everything we do so we appreciate this recognition of our crime prevention programs. Our violent crimes initiative has had a significant impact on our communities by addressing issues like guns, gangs, drugs and repeat offenders.
Rich Gibson, State’s Attorney for Howard, applauded the pro-active approach to the effort.
“When the Howard County Police Department approached our office about having a strategic, joint effort to root out the engines of violence in our community, we eagerly accepted their proposal.”
The joint effort between the two entities focused on criminal networks and street gangs that were habitual offenders in the community. Months of work led to major indictments that targeted the Hoover Gang, and the department created a permanent Crime Reduction Teams to continue efforts.