Student Insight: Beyond the Badge with Chief Jones on Trust & Challenges

August 21, 2023 – Christian Lee

Full video interview aired on YouTube July 11, 2023

Being a police officer is a rewarding, albeit demanding job.  Similar to school teachers, cafeteria workers, and guidance counselors, policemen sacrifice every hour of every day in order to serve our students and protect our schools.  However, many officers have become disheartened by the unsupportive responses of the community, often leading to resignations and burnout cascades.  In an interview with Montgomery County Police Chief Jones, we not only learned about an officer’s responsibilities, but also an officer’s personal outlook on life.

The Mission of Our Officers

Four years ago, upon assuming the position as chief, Chief Jones wished “to leave the Department better than [he] found it.”  He has kept his word ever since, improving the way the police force interacts with the community.  

“This is where we really focused on having more positive engagement in order to work as partners in the community to try to deal with crime issues,” said Chief Jones.  

Additionally, he reinforced the accountability of police officers, stating, “The technology has improved across the board that [now] all of our officers are wearing body-worn cameras.” 

Social media has played a big role in advancing our society, providing an efficient way to consume local and national news stories.  However, it has also generated a negative impression of our officers due to reports of police brutality across America.  Chief Jones believes that an officer–student relationship is equivalent to a teacher–student relationship in that students often fear the unknown, trusting in the beliefs of other students and how they perceive a teacher without meeting them.  

“When you walk into a class, you don’t know who your teacher is and you have to learn and trust and build that relationship over the course of that school year,” said Chief Jones.  He continued, stating, “The reality is that [the Montgomery County Police Force] are human and having a human type of relationship helps to build trust.”

Furthermore, during the Magruder school shooting, many students took to social media rather than alerting the school administration or the police.

“[Social media can] also be damaging in ways [in which we] sometimes forget our core responsibilities as citizens [when helping] people in need,” said Chief Jones.  He later added, “It’s important that we get the necessary help to individuals when they need that…life is more precious to us, and we need to keep that in the back of our mind.”

In terms of drug control, Chief Jones believes that an arrest isn’t always necessary.  He explained that the police are usually more involved in seizing life-threatening drugs such as fentanyl.

“[The police force] would document and seize the illegal drugs that were in [the] possession of a student who is underage, but the reality is that we would not make the arrest,” he said.  “MCPS would then put forth any type of disciplinary [action] internally from their standpoint.”

According to Chief Jones, there is a three–strikes disciplinary rule that regulates drug-related offenses.  However, it was hardly used last year since there was a drastic drop in the number of drug-related incidents occurring in schools.

By contrast, the number of hate crimes and bias incidents through vandalism were extremely high in MCPS this year.  “[The police force] documented all those incidents as they were reported to us by MCPS,” said Chief Jones.  “I think we really have to stay attuned and educate people–all of our students–on the impact of these negative messages or these harassing type thoughts, [which are symbols] that are being drawn or painted.” 

The Life of an Officer

New problems arise everyday for officers.  According to Chief Jones, staffing is among the most challenging.  

“After George Floyd, there were lots of conversations about defunding the police and a lot of rhetoric that caused a lot of pain and angst within the police department, not only from Montgomery County but across the country.”  

These unsupportive responses diminished staff morale, which resulted in numerous early retirements and replacements.  Chief Jones is working to meet this challenge by recruiting individuals who want to be a part of the Montgomery County Police Department.  Regardless, he believes that they have “a new enthusiasm” for protecting the community..  

Chief Jones reinforced that a police officer is just like anyone else—they care for the safety of staff and students.  What separates them from the rest of society, however, is that they have a sworn duty to serve the community.  The position of a public servant can be extremely challenging due to the high expectations society places on such powerful roles.

“Their job was never to arrest students,” said Chief Jones.  “That was never the number one priority or objective.  Their job was to protect and serve and make sure students were safe in the school environment.  But it was never taken that way.”

As the community moves forth with an improved and reinvigorated police force, MCPS is hoping to keep students safe in the coming school year.

Watch the Full Interview

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1 Comment

  1. I truly admire and respect our police force! Their life is not easy at all, they are at risk all the time! Forget about holidays, family gatherings, etc, etc., their life is stressful twenty four hours a day!

    It’s sad how city councils wanted to defund the police, well they make good money sitting behind a desk, I wonder how much a city council makes compare to our police force?

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