This past weekend, I was thrilled to join residents and officers at the Rockville City Police Department’s annual Open House. It was a fantastic opportunity for families to tour the police station, meet our officers, see our K-9 teams, learn about the equipment and resources they use every day, and get a closer look at the work RCPD does throughout our community.

The Open House was also another reminder of something I have strongly believed since joining the Council: Supporting public safety requires more than thanking our officers... We also must make sure RCPD has the staffing, compensation, equipment, training , and resources necessary to keep Rockville safe.

We need to recognize what also makes RCPD particularly special: its extraordinary commitment to community engagement. Our officers do much more than respond to calls. They are regularly in our neighborhoods, schools and businesses. They participate in National Night Out, Neighborhood Health and Safety Day, the Police Education Program, community meetings, safety presentations, and events throughout Rockville. The RCPD's Annual Open House is another important opportunity for residents to meet the people behind the badge and build relationships with the officers who serve their neighborhoods.

RCPD has made community policing a major priority. In 2025, the Department expanded its Community Engagement Unit while continuing programs including National Night Out, the annual Open House and Neighborhood Safety Day. Chief Jason West has emphasized that these relationships help RCPD better understand and serve the community. Those relationships matter. Public safety is stronger when residents know their officers, officers know the neighborhoods they serve, and communication and trust exist before an emergency occurs.

That commitment is also why I have strongly supported expanding RCPD’s Community Engagement Officer (CEO) program in our schools. The program expanded to include Wootton High School in 2025 after Richard Montgomery High School had an amazing CEO for many years, and the FY2027 budget added officer capacity to provide a Community Engagement Officer at Rockville High School without reducing the support already being provided to the other school communities. However, maintaining an outstanding police department requires being able to recruit and retain outstanding officers.

During the FY2025 budget process in 2024, I first proposed that Rockville conduct a annual Regional Police Compensation Review after surrounding jurisdictions completed their budgets. The idea was simple: we should be comparing our police salaries and benefits using current information and, if Rockville begins falling behind neighboring departments, we should know that quickly enough to respond. The Mayor and Council supported that proposal, and I have continued pushing for the review to occur every budget year since.

Rockville competes with police departments throughout our region for talented officers. Competitive compensation directly affects our ability to recruit experienced officers, retain the officers in whom we have already invested, and maintain the staffing necessary to provide the level of service our residents expect.

The City has made significant investments in that effort. Rockville added six police officer positions as RCPD assumed greater responsibility for calls within the City, made salary and pension improvements to strengthen recruitment and retention, provided additional training resources, and invested in equipment including replacement police radios.

Those investments are producing results. RCPD reported a 4.3% overall reduction in crime in 2025, while adding 13 officers, expanding specialized capabilities and strengthening its community-policing efforts.

At the same time, no community can take public safety for granted. Residents understandably remain concerned when serious crimes occur, when there are safety issues around our schools, or when something happens in their neighborhood that makes them feel less secure. That risk is why we must continue investing in RCPD.

Public safety is not one program or one budget item. We must have enough officers on the street and that requires competitive compensation as well as modern equipment and technology. A strong and well-supported Rockville City Police Department benefits every resident, neighborhood and business in our City.

I am grateful to Chief Jason West and to RCPD’s officers, civilian staff and communications personnel for their service to Rockville. I was able to see their teamwork and efforts earlier this month for a ride-along, and I am incredibly grateful for the way our officers keep our community safe. I will continue supporting the investments necessary to recruit and retain excellent officers, provide them with the resources and training they need, strengthen community policing, and make sure RCPD can continue providing the level of public safety Rockville residents deserve.

Supporting RCPD and keeping Rockville safe will continue to be one of my highest priorities on the City Council.