Sheriff highlights drops in property crime, outlines new drone plan and grants

Sheriff Montgomery delivered the York County Sheriffs Office annual update, praising deputieswork, citing multiple year-over-year declines in property crimes and outlining investments in specialized teams and technology.

Nut graf: Montgomery told supervisors the departments traffic unit, added personnel and targeted enforcement drove increases in traffic summonses and a simultaneous drop in accidents, while crime-prevention programs and new investigative equipment contributed to higher clearance rates. He urged continued support for court capacity and for planned projects that will expand public-safety capabilities.

The sheriff opened with a service recognition for Lieutenant Jeffrey Charleville and then reviewed 2025 operations. He said larcenies from vehicles fell to below 100 incidents for the first time in his career, motor-vehicle thefts were down 7.6% and the departments overall incidents were down roughly 14.6% year-over-year. "In 2025, we're larcenies from vehicles... that's the first time in my career in the last 20 years that we've had less than 100 larcenies from vehicles," Montgomery said, attributing the decline to community awareness and targeted patrols.

Montgomery credited two consecutive budget additions that allowed creation of a traffic unit; he said DUI arrests rose 11% and traffic summonses increased from about 3,800 in 2024 to more than 6,500 in 2025. He linked increased enforcement to a reduction in accidents: "we're seeing 152 less traffic accidents in 1 year," he said.

On investigative capacity, Montgomery described a certified accident-reconstruction team and digital-forensics capability that have supported prosecutions. He reported a clearance rate of 58.6% for certain case categories, well above a cited national average of about 25%: "The clearance rate is 58.6%... that's based on cases cleared by arrest or prosecution declined or the victim refused to cooperate," he said.

The sheriff also reviewed community programs: eight school resource officers in county schools, crime-prevention outreach including an active-shooter civilian-response program and a citizens academy, and a K-9 unit that he said had 569 deployments since 2023. He noted animal services and a specialized hostage-negotiation team among other units.

Montgomery described a countywide drone/rover project in collaboration with the fire department, county IT and public works that he said would soon let first responders launch drones from the sheriffs office and Station 4: "We're getting close to being able to launch drones... I'm hoping within about 60 days," he told the board.

He outlined recent and pending grants that funded equipment and training: a $100,000 grant supporting internet-crimes-against-children workstation capability, a JAG grant for Bosch and other technical equipment for accident reconstruction, and a port-security grant that funded purchase of a marine patrol boat expected by next year. Montgomery also described a new Trunark scanner for safely identifying controlled substances inside sealed bags and said the office now carries AEDs and Narcan; deputies deployed AEDs five times and Narcan 13 times in 2025.

Board members commended the departments work and asked about impacts on court caseloads. Montgomery said jury summonses rose from roughly 1,065 in 2024 to 1,933 in 2025, and said that growth, together with an upcoming drug court, supported calls for additional courtroom capacity. "Jury trials are becoming much more prevalent," he said, adding that the county would need a new or expanded courthouse to handle increasing criminal caseloads.

The presentation concluded with board appreciation and no formal action; Montgomery answered supervisorsquestions on camera placement in school zones and enforcement operations.