Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site on September 23, 2026.
Howard County, Maryland, has about 340,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Howard County Sheriff's Office, one other county agency and one state agency. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the State's Attorney files charges, a case in the Circuit Court for Howard County. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies and common questions.
Related guides: Howard County public records, Maryland arrest records, Maryland inmate search and Maryland criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Howard County
The Howard County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Howard County. It reported 355 arrests for 2020, its latest complete year.
The Howard County Police Department also reports arrests to the FBI as another county agency of Howard County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Howard County: the Howard County State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests The Howard County Police Department Reports
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. These are the full-year totals, all offenses, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026; a year with months missing or not reported is left out.
- Howard County Police Department: 1,864 for 2025, 1,676 for 2024, 1,324 for 2023, 1,308 for 2022, 2,502 for 2020 and 4,248 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Howard County Sheriff's Office: 355 for 2020 and 561 for 2019.
The Howard County Police Department's 1,676 arrests in 2024 were up 27 percent from 1,324 in 2023.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Howard County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Howard County is held at the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest, apart from the short stay some city departments' own holding cells allow; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked at all. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and the court file takes over from there.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 220 people, down from about 300 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 478 beds, and it ran at 63 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Howard County
An arrest in Howard County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Circuit Court for Howard County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at courts.state.md.us/clerks/howard/caserecords, phone 410-313-2111); the State's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at cc.howardcountymd.gov/node/1097).
Statewide, Maryland Judiciary Case Search is the free statewide case search of every Maryland court.
Maryland does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Criminal Justice Information System goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes; for everyone else the court's own case index is the public record of an arrest that led to a charge.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Howard County
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. Under the Maryland Public Information Act the agency must answer within 30 days, with a denial due within 10 working days, and it may charge staff time after the first two hours, plus copying.
- An arrest by the Howard County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit.
- An arrest by the Howard County State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State's Attorney handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Circuit Court for Howard County, through the court records page at courts.state.md.us/clerks/howard/caserecords, phone 410-313-2111.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the CJIS Central Repository.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Howard County each year?
The Howard County Police Department reported 1,864 arrests to the FBI for 2025.
Where are people arrested in Howard County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Howard County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Howard County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Circuit Court for Howard County are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Criminal Justice Information System is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Maryland Public Information Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Howard County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Howard County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Maryland Public Information Act the answer is due within 30 days, with a denial due within 10 working days.
Is this the official Howard County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.