MCPD CHIEF YAMADA - OFF TO A GOOD START
Montgomery County Police Chief Marc Yamada
By Lori Jaffe
Recently the Montgomery County Taxpayers League hosted our new Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) Chief, Marc Yamada. He came across as an intelligent, experienced police officer with great communication skills who has taken on a big mission - striking a balance between the Left’s agenda and what the majority of the county residents want from their police department. It will not be easy. He needs to hear from you.
Yamada’s priorities include:
Police mental health – In addition to counseling for depression, and family issues, this includes counseling on housing, and financial training.
Communication – Chief Yamada wants to communicate with all the residents and community groups of Montgomery County to better understand their needs. He mentioned that a very vocal segment of the population focuses only on any mistake an officer may make. This requirement for perfection causes low morale and can cause an officer to do just the minimum for fear of being criticized.
Montgomery County Councilman Will Jawando has taken the lead on this anti-cop narrative. Jawando’s proposed bill, the Freedom to Leave Act, would allow a driver to leave the scene even if the driver had already consented to a search. In 2019, he claimed that police stopped him because of racial profiling. Jawando claims that just because there is no complaint doesn’t mean there was not a problem. If we use that as the baseline for our laws, we would be establishing a fund to feed all the unicorns in Montgomery County.
Yamada will have to cope with Jawando’s propensity to construct hurdles for the police to navigate. There are 197 vacancies now so he will have an uphill climb. Yamada encourages us to advocate for the police whenever it is appropriate.
Technology - Chief Yamada plans to expand the use of technology. Cameras have been effective in reducing the number of drivers who drive past stopped school buses. Drones are used as first responders, being dispatched within a minute of the initial call as compared to a five-minute wait using normal channels. Artificial Intelligence will be used to review body camera videos of consent searches to be followed by supervisory reviews.
The MCPD could do with more space to build up their services. As we know, buildings are not affordable in MoCo. Yamada mentioned that he would like to model 911 services after that of Fairfax, VA. He thought Fairfax had more space. A workload analysis is in progress.
Yamada looks forward to collaborating with the new Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor and Marcus Jones, Chief of Security and Compliance at MCPS and former MCPD Chief. Yamada is asking the community to tell him what we want to see in the schools. He will try to find a balance between having a police presence inside versus responding reactively. Discussions need to be had with MCPS, the county council and the county executive.
MCPD currently focuses on the high schools, but Yamada feels it would be better to include middle and even elementary schools to enhance the chances of establishing better relationships with students as early as possible. Parents should contact their school’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA) if they would like the MCPD to make a presentation at their school.
Residents can become more informed and involved by attending the Citizen Academy or working on an advisory board. Yamada believes that groups made up of people of differing backgrounds and differing views make the best decisions. You can also start a conversation with your local district police.
We wish Chief Yamada well and ask you to get involved. And remember to thank the next officer that you see. As Yamada said, one pat on the back can make a difference to an entire group of officers.
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Lori Jaffe is the Party Secretary for the Montgomery County Republican Central Committee, volunteer coordinator and Member of the Executive Board. She can be reached at [email protected]