In: Crime, Local Government, Local Politics, Montgomery County Police Department, Policing

August 18, 2024 Montgomery County is facing a troubling amount of juvenile auto theft incidents, resulting in dangerous confrontations that have put both police officers and the public at risk. In the latest string of incidents, Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) officers encountered reckless behavior from juvenile offenders, leading toContinue Reading

In: City of Gaithersburg, City of Rockville, County Council, Events, Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce, House of Delegates, Local Government, MoCo Delegation, Montgomery County Police Department, Public Safety

June 27, 2024 The Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce (GGCC) hosted its 30th Annual Public Safety Awards Breakfast this morning at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fairgrounds in Gaithersburg. The event honored 58 men and women who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to protect the public safety inContinue Reading

In: Local Government, MCPS, Montgomery County Police Department, Policing, Public Safety, Safety

June 26, 2024 Confirming our previous reporting from sources about a week ago, MCPS today appointed outgoing Montgomery County Police Department Chief Jones (who recently retired from MCPD and was replaced by new Police Chief Marc Yamada) in a new position called the Chief of Security and Compliance (read onContinue Reading

In: Crime, Local Government, Maryland, Montgomery County Police Department, Policing, Public Safety

May 10, 2024 Many were shocked to read the Montgomery County Police Department press release today, which stated that an 18 year old male allegedly assaulted at least four women over a span of 4 different days while he was already on pre-trial supervision: “An 18-year-old Clarksburg male has beenContinue Reading

In: BOE, Colleges, Hate / Bias Incidents, Hate / Bias Incidents, Incident Response, Local Government, Maryland, MCPS, Montgomery County Police Department, Public Safety, Safety, School

May 7, 2024 Background In January 2024, we posted the initial Part 1 which featured a very detailed series of graphs and charts showing how anti-Jewish Hate/Bias incidents in Montgomery County Maryland have increased over the timeframe of July 2022 to October 2024 (inclusive) as compared to Hate/Bias incidents againstContinue Reading

In: BOE, Community Feedback, County Council, Education & Culture, Government, Local Government, MCPS, Montgomery County Police Department, Policing, Public Funding, Public Safety, Safety, School Funding, Special Education, Transportation

April 8th, 2024 – This testimony was given to the County Council on the FY2025 operating budget Hello my name is Jason Makstein and I run the blog Moderately MOCO but today I am testifying as a community advocate about various items in the operating budgets. My focus will beContinue Reading

In: Community Feedback, Community Reports, County Council, Local Government, Montgomery County Police Department, Policing, Public Safety

March 8, 2024 This was sent in as a follow up to Opinion: Defending Effective Policing: The Case Against Restricting Consent Searches and Bill 2-24 – Moderately MOCO following the County Council Public Hearing on the bill. Any councilmember who is for Councilmember Jawando’s Bill 2-24 must be prepared toContinue Reading

In: Community Feedback, Community Reports, County Council, Local Government, Montgomery County Police Department, Policing, Public Safety

February 23, 2024 Councilmember Jawando introduced Bill 2-24 to prohibit police from searching a vehicle when the driver specifically consents to the search. Consent searches are an important tool for police to address serious crime. When police reduce discretionary enforcement, such as traffic stops, violent crime rises. The Montgomery CountyContinue Reading

In: County Council, County Executive, Demographics, Government, Hate / Bias Incidents, Hate / Bias Incidents, Incident Response, Local Government, MCPS, Montgomery County Police Department, Population, Safety

Updated and edited January 21, 2024. Posted January 16, 2024. Background We’ve been working on this report on hate and bias incidents in Montgomery County Maryland for the last few years. This report is based on data from July 2022 through October 31, 2023. It is important to note thatContinue Reading