Oakland Mills Blacksmith House and Shop · Photo: FlugKerl2 · CC BY-SA 3.0Who polices Columbia, and what they report
Columbia has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Howard County. The Howard County Police Department reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Columbia alone, and no Safety Grade.
What stands out about safety in Columbia
Policed by the county
Columbia is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Howard County Police Department’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Howard County Police Department covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Columbia. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest Maryland towns with their own police figures are Laurel (D, 7 mi), Sykesville (B+, 13 mi), Greenbelt (D−, 14 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Columbia. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Howard County Police Department reports
Crimes reported to the FBI for the whole area the department covers, by year.
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Howard County without police of their own, which include Columbia.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
Also reports crimes in Howard County to the FBI.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Howard County Police Department
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. Agencies that reported only zeros (the Sheriff’s Office here) are left out. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
The nearest Maryland towns with a Safety Grade
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurel | D | 7 mi | 4.7 | 43.9 |
| Sykesville | B+ | 13 mi | 0.8 | 7.0 |
| Greenbelt | D− | 14 mi | 6.4 | 44.9 |
| Berwyn Heights | C+ | 15 mi | 2.3 | 13.7 |
| Baltimore | D− | 15 mi | 15.1 | 41.4 |
| New Carrollton | C− | 16 mi | 3.1 | 20.6 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Columbia. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Columbia.
33 people died in crashes on Columbia’s roads in 2019–2023
Columbia had 31 fatal crashes in five years, in which 33 people died; 6 were pedestrians and 2 were cyclists. 3 died in crashes on an Interstate.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Columbia and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scaggsville | — | — | — |
| Ellicott City | — | — | — |
| Ilchester | — | — | — |
| North Laurel | — | — | — |
| Savage | — | — | — |
| Jessup | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Scaggsville, Ellicott City, Ilchester, North Laurel, Savage and Jessup are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- A county agency covers a wide area. Its totals mix many communities, so they say little about any one of them.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Columbia
Is Columbia, MD safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Columbia. Columbia has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Howard County. The Howard County Police Department reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Columbia alone, and no Safety Grade. The nearest Maryland towns with a grade are Laurel (D, 7 mi), Sykesville (B+, 13 mi), Greenbelt (D−, 14 mi).
Who polices Columbia?
The Howard County Police Department. Columbia is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Howard County without police of their own.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Columbia.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.