Harford County leaders unveil new sheriff precinct, training facility for local law enforcement - Baltimore Sun

The Harford County Sheriff’s Department will repurpose an existing county facility in Aberdeen to serve as a central precinct and training facility for the local law enforcement.

Harford County Executive Barry Glassman made the announcement Thursday afternoon at a news conference where officials pulled a black sheet from the front of the former HEAT building on Technology Drive in Aberdeen where the precinct and training facility will be housed.

Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said the precinct will handle all law enforcement calls for service from Abingdon and the Riverside areas, the Bel Air, Churchville and Level areas and Aberdeen and Havre de Grace areas. All those areas, he said, experienced significant growth in the past two decades, and law enforcement must grow with it.

The sheriff’s office has a northern precinct in Jarrettsville and a southern precinct in Edgewood. Glassman said that the county sheriff asked him to fill a gap between these two areas as well as a training academy.

He said the former HEAT center, or Higher Education and Applied Technology Center, was underutilized, had access to major roads and already paid for by local tax dollars. Now, it will be called the Harford County Sheriff’s Office Central Precinct and Training Academy.

Officers currently train on the campus of Harford Community College in a 3,500 square feet of space, according to Gahler. The new facility will be nearly 20,000 square feet of training space, he added. Inside the building will be classrooms, locker rooms, a full gym and training rooms. It will also have a community room.

Glassman said he expects renovations to be complete in a year or two and the county has $2 million in the facility account to do design and put out to bid. He said renovations will include work on roofing and the HVAC system that the county will have to fund.

“There’s a big debate about defunding, refunding,” Glassman said. “In Harford County, I’d like to simplify it and say, we continue to fund … we’ve never gone up and down.”

Gahler thanked Glassman for investing in the police while other politicians talked about cutting law enforcement budgets. Over the next few years, he said, the sheriff’s office will work with the county executive to fully staff the precinct. He added later that the goal is to add 49 additional law enforcement staff.

Gahler said when it comes to recruiting law enforcement, he’s seen a sharp decline in the number of people interested in the profession. However, he said Harford County offers a great package to its recruits like community support and investments in the agency.

Kristen J. Griffith covers community news with a focus on education for the Carroll County Times. Kristen came to Baltimore Sun Media from The Enterprise in St. Mary’s County where she was honored by a state press association as the Rookie of the Year. She earned a master’s degree American University and a bachelor’s degree from Wesley College.

source: https://www.baltimoresun.com/maryland/harford/aegis/cng-ag-new-police-precinct-20211028-q73fkbicunfzpjbmbroa3y5fjm-story.html

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