Law enforcement, school officials brief committee on SRO roles, juvenile-law changes and campus safety data

State police, Calvert County Sheriff's Office supervisors and Calvert County Public Schools officials told a county committee May 21 that recent Maryland juvenile-law changes and local protocols shape how school resource officers and safety advocates respond to incidents on campus.

Detective Sergeant Ike Cameron of the Maryland State Police said changes in Maryland law mean children under 10 cannot be charged and children ages 10 to 12 may be charged only for crimes of violence; he added that juveniles of any age must consult an attorney before law-enforcement interviews. Cameron summarized two years of state police juvenile contacts (April 2023–April 2025) as "23 juvenile criminal arrests, 15 traffic arrests and 5 other," and said the total juvenile arrests for that period was 49.

Sergeant Woodford of the Calvert County Sheriff's Office described the department’s school resource officer (SRO) program and its duties: responding to active threats, investigating incidents on school grounds (including buses and school events), conducting interior and exterior checks, mentoring students, assisting with mental-health crisis responses and coordinating with school staff on threat assessments. Woodford said the sheriff’s office has an MOU with the Board of Education dating to February 2004 that governs SRO deployment, and that training includes a 40-hour basic SRO course, annual refreshers, crisis-intervention (CIT) training and DARE instruction in middle schools.

Woodford gave school arrest data for 2023–24, saying the district recorded 54 student arrests in that school year and that the state counts marijuana civil citations as arrests; he said THC vape citations were a leading issue and that most weapon incidents involved sharp-edged weapons, with one firearm found outside of a school building. He said only four students were handcuffed in the prior year and that, in three of those cases, SROs made the restraint.

Larry Titus, community resource and school safety specialist for Calvert County Public Schools, outlined the district’s safety structure: 14 SROs, 15 school safety advocates (retired law-enforcement personnel serving in secondary schools) and a set of protocols that define district jurisdiction (on-campus incidents, school bus incidents when a bus is present, school-sponsored events and off-campus conduct that disrupts the learning environment). Titus said the district follows COMAR (Code of Maryland Regulations), FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) and guidance from the Maryland Center for School Safety.

Panelists described how threats are handled: schools typically lead threat assessments during the day, then inform SROs, who may conduct residential threat assessments in cooperation with parents; more immediate or weaponized threats can put law enforcement in charge of the scene. Woodford and Titus described "Handle With Care," a program that forwards a brief notification to schools when a student experienced a potentially traumatic event in the prior 24 hours so school staff can prepare supports.

Committee members asked about topics including use of mental-health crisis teams (mobile crisis teams can be requested to respond if a student is in crisis), how disciplinary hearings are conducted (Titus serves as the district’s hearing officer for extended suspensions or expulsions), the school district’s use of safety-advocate positions and whether the district shares limited student contact information with law enforcement. Titus said the district is researching limited sharing of basic contact information (name, address, emergency contact) with the sheriff’s office but is working with the state's attorney and board counsel to ensure compliance with FERPA and Maryland law.

A committee member asked whether ICE (the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) would be allowed access to students; Titus said the district would require documentation such as a warrant, notify parents or guardians, consult legal counsel and investigate before releasing a student. Titus said if ICE lacks a warrant, FERPA protections would limit access.

Committee members requested additional data, including arrests of students with special needs; Titus said he would research that request and provide data when available. The panel concluded after questions and the committee moved on to public comments.