Taylor Adams ‘27 and Isabella Landaverde ‘27

MCPS hired a new Security Chief, Marcus Jones, on June 25. Jones comes to MCPS from the Montgomery County Police Department where he served as Chief for the last five years. He brings 40 years of law enforcement experience to his new role at MCPS.

Jones has stated in MCPS press releases that he is looking forward to taking on this new opportunity and improving the safety of schools in Montgomery County. Jones joins MCPS at a time when high schools have been struggling with safety issues such as bullying, school fights, weapons in schools, and fake bomb threats. Overall, he is aiming to increase safety in schools so that students, teachers, and visitors can all have a positive experience. He has said he would like to prevent crises before they can happen by altering policies and practices to increase safety. Specifically, Jones wants to clarify the role of police officers in schools and use them in a more effective way. He is also going to work on more school safety procedure training for students and staff.

Although many see his appointment as a positive step, some activist groups have expressed concerns about his background as a police chief. They are concerned that he will increase the number of police officers in schools when they would rather see more staff counseling students through problems and more mental health resources for students and staff. In an article where Jones spoke to Montgomery Community Media, he explains that he is not planning to change the role of police officers in schools. He specifies that, under the Community Engagement Officer program, police officers do not remain inside school buildings when patrolling them, but have a space near the main office of the school.

Others who are in support of Jones have expressed a viewpoint that hiring a former police chief means the public school system is taking school safety seriously. Jones’s background as chief of the Montgomery County Police Department indicates to these supporters that MCPS is committed to prioritizing student safety.