Message from Police Chief Marcus G. Jones
Dear Montgomery County Community,
The Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) is pleased to be a part of the Reimagining Public Safety project and we pledge our full cooperation to work with the Task Force as it proceeds.
This effort from County Executive Marc Elrich will produce results on two levels. It will help us to redefine and improve our internal methods and practices. And it will help improve our external relationships with the community we serve.
Every good organization, and the MCPD is a good organization, constantly evaluates how it is doing its job and how tasks can be done better. We do this on our own initiative and with our elected officials and we bring in experts to provide some perspective.
Sometimes, however, views from outside provide analysis and recommendations. This project will go beyond some of what we already do into a wider look at our relationship to the residents of Montgomery County. It will look at issues of racism and how that affects how our officers approach their duties. It will look at what we do generally and determine whether and how those tasks could be done by others outside of the Department.
We are committed to achieving the following goals:
- Confront and work to eliminate implicit bias;
- Improve our relationships with the community;
- Determine what types of activities are appropriate for uniformed officers, and which are better served by others with different expertise; \
- Evaluate our training, from the Academy for new officers to continuing education for veteran officers.
As we embark on this project and subsequent actions, we must chart the best course for Montgomery County. At the same time, we must recognize that in doing so we are part of a great national conversation about reforming policing.
This is a start of a project for which there is really no end. We must constantly be reevaluating and constantly be reimagining as we work to the goal of becoming the best Department we can be. Montgomery County deserves no less.
