When Marcus Jones retired as Montgomery County Police Chief after decades of law enforcement service, he knew he could work somewhere else—the only question was where and when.
He was then made aware of the position of Director of Safety and Compliance at Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS).
“It interested me because I’ve had a really great relationship with MCPS throughout my career and also as a parent,” Jones said. “I knew a lot of good people who work in the system and I felt like I could bring my experience here and we could do some good things.”
Jones was appointed chief of safety and compliance in June after retiring from 38 years with the county police. His appointment was met with mixed reactions, with some praising the choice and others expressing concerns.
Here’s what Jones told MoCo360 during an interview on Wednesday about his approach to the role and future aspects of the job:
Approaching the new position
Jones said his new role is different from his previous role as police chief: He is no longer the head of an entire organization and security has a different focus than policing.
“I like to say I’m reinventing myself,” Jones told MoCo360. “The focus is on the kids, the students, the staff and the entire community.”
Jones said the biggest problem with safety and security in the school system is that people don’t feel safe. And some problems in the community, such as fights between students outside the school, can spill over into the school day and affect safety.
“What are the pitfalls that create this feeling?” Jones asked. “Some may be real and some may be imagined, but we have to deal with them.”
Jones said he is committed to school safety but understands the emotions surrounding the issue.
“When (parents) leave their children with educators, those are the trusted adults that are around,” Jones said. “We want their children to be in a safe environment. We want to create a … welcoming environment for everyone.”
Clarifying the role of policing in schools, evaluating best practices
As Jones noted, MCPS – with 211 schools and more than 160,000 students – is a large system that engages in many different areas. His department oversees several areas related to safety, including the Community Engagement Officer (CEO) program.
Jones has stated – including at the district school board meeting on Tuesday evening – that he would like to clear up what he sees as confusion surrounding the CEO program and the role of police in schools.
The CEO program was implemented in the 2022-2023 school year after MCPS removed district police officers, known as School Resource Officers, from schools the previous year.
Under the existing CEO program, county police officers patrol schools within a cluster rather than staying in buildings; they are assigned office space in a cluster’s high school. During his time as police chief, Jones helped draft the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between MCPS and county police that governs the program.
Jones said the confusion about the program stems from three causes: some police officers assigned to the program do not understand their role; some MCPS officers do not know how the officers should be deployed; and the community as a whole does not understand how the program works.
Some schools have different needs than others, Jones said, such as requiring officers to resolve problems with intruders or handle traffic problems outside the building.
“We had to reiterate what the MOU says and be clear that principals need to leverage CEOs to their advantage to meet the needs of their school,” Jones told MoCo360.
Regarding his expectations for CEO engagement, Jones said he is initially focused on maintaining the consistency of the program before evaluating its value and effectiveness throughout the year.
In addition to the CEOs, Jones is also responsible for school security staff. Jones said the district’s security team is “fabulous” and the staff is very knowledgeable about the students and what is happening in their schools.
“There are some things we probably need to evaluate from an organizational perspective, how our security teams are deployed and how they can be most effective,” Jones said. “That’s something I’ll be evaluating throughout the year. And again, I want consistency.”
Discipline issues in schools came to the forefront last school year as the MCPS community became increasingly concerned about safety in schools. While Jones noted that dealing with discipline in schools is not his area of expertise, he said it is related to safety and security, as some behaviors can lead to safety concerns.
Jones said that if security personnel want to alert others to violations of the rules, the administration of each school must support security personnel in disciplinary action.
“Someone does something wrong … and nothing is done about it. What message does that send?” Jones said. “These are the things we need to work through … I’m going to advocate for my people, identify problems and make sure we can work through those issues with staff and make these schools safe.”
Safety and protection in the future
At Tuesday’s school board meeting, Jones and other school leaders unveiled several new safety initiatives, including installing vaping detectors in high schools. While measures like installing the detectors may not seem like they’re necessarily focused on safety, Jones said they’re important because some students use vaping to mask their use of marijuana or other drugs.
“This is something that violates the rules set by MCPS,” Jones said. “That’s why it becomes a safety issue.”
Jones did not provide a timeline for installing the detectors, but said the goal is to have them installed in high school bathrooms by the end of the 2024-2025 school year. He is currently reviewing vendors and said he will continue to “strongly push” the measure.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the school board approved a $2 million allocation from a settlement with e-cigarette maker JUUL to fund the detectors. The county council must now approve the allocation before the district can move forward.
Jones said he is also in the “very early stages” of studying gun detection systems that could benefit the system. If MCPS implements a gun detection system, the district will do so “holistically,” he said.
“Our biggest concerns about guns coming into our schools are generally at the high school level,” Jones said. “We really need to look at the number of incidents that have occurred and are occurring.”
He will also look at school districts similar to MCPS that have implemented weapons detection systems to determine whether they are efficient and effective.
Because school safety is a top priority, Jones announced that he will provide quarterly updates on safety and security to the school board.
“We won’t solve all the problems overnight, but we will work hard to make sure our systems are in place and we work toward creating a safer environment,” Jones said.
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