Chief Amal E. Awad was appointed as Anne Arundel County’s 19th Chief of Police on December 17, 2020. She prides herself on being a compassionate 21st Century Policing servant leader with more than 30 years of experience in public safety. She is committed to building relationships, investing in our police officers, and reducing crime utilizing the most basic principles of community policing.
Understanding that strong relationships of mutual trust between the police and the community are critical to public safety, one of Chief Awad’s first priorities was the establishment of the Community Services Bureau in 2021. The Bureau is comprised of the Training Division, the Community Relations Division and Section, the Crisis Intervention Team, the Community Engagement Section, and the School Safety Section.
In 2023, County Executive Pittman supported the Police Department’s establishment of its first Real-Time Information Center (RTIC). The RTIC is a resource grounded in technology that revolutionizes how police officers not only respond to crime, but do so with an extra measure of safety providing real-time information to our police officers while enhancing community safety.
After retiring from the Prince George’s County Police Department in 2013, Chief Awad served as Chief of Staff for the Anne Arundel County Police Department, and later served as Chief of Police for the City of Hyattsville Police Department.
She was educated at Johns Hopkins University where she earned her Master of Science in Management and Bachelor of Science in Management graduating with honors. She received the Johns Hopkins University School of Education Leadership Award (conferred upon only one student per year), and in 2020, received the Johns Hopkins University Community Champion Award.
In addition to her college education, she received professional training from the Police Executive Research Forum Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP) in Boston, Massachusetts.
Chief Awad was appointed to the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission by Governor Wes Moore. She is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association, and past president of the Police Chiefs Association of Prince George’s County.