During the last school year, there were 736 serious security incidents reported at Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS).
There were 221 incidents concerning knives and other weapons, which is a 30% increase as compared to the previous school year, according to information released during the Board of Education business meeting Tuesday.
There were 84 false alarms and bomb threats, which was an 11.4% increase.
Fighting and attacks on others decreased 17.7% as compared with the 2022-2023 school year. Drug incidents were down about 27%, and trespassing incidents increased by 13.7%.
A total of 4,424 incidents were reported. The remaining 3,688 incidents were not deemed serious.
These incidents include only ones that reported to MCPS, officials stressed.
Marcus Jones, the former county police chief and current Montgomery County Public Schools Chief of Security and Compliance, issued a security and safety update to the board members.
He stressed his commitment to “creating a safe and welcoming environment. That is my number one goal.” First, and foremost, Jones wants school staff to be more visible throughout the day, in hallways, stairwells and building blind spots.
It is not necessary for staff to break up fights. Instead, Jones said, they need to be great witnesses. He recalled earlier days when hall monitors played a large role in day-to-day events.
“It is really about collaboration,” Jones said. “Prevention in the number one priority.”
Jones hopes to change how MCPS deals with bomb threats. “Many of these calls come from outside Montgomery County. Many of these calls come from outside Maryland. In fact, in a few cases, they came from outside the U.S.”
Rather than treat every bomb threat the same, Jones said he plans to make “best decisions to minimize disruption.”
Dr. Peter Moran, chief of school support, called the rise in some serious crimes “alarming data.”
MCPS is implementing a cell phone pilot to see how best to deal with cell phones and how to implement any changes. During the spring, MCPS will look into what changes should be made for the following school year.
Currently, cell phones are not permitted by elementary school students. In middle schools, cell phones are not permitted during the education day, but principals can allow them at lunch.
At the high schools, cell phones are permitted during lunch and transition time.
It is up to individual teachers whether cell phones can be used for learning purposes during a class.
