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Sheriff Montgomery credits added staff, traffic unit and community programs for drops in some crimes
Summary
Sheriff Montgomery told the York County Board of Supervisors that staffing additions helped create a traffic unit, expanded community policing and specialty teams; he cited declines in several property-crime categories and described new equipment and grants that staff say will support investigations and public safety.
Sheriff Montgomery delivered a wide-ranging update to the York County Board of Supervisors on April 21, saying staffing and community programs helped reduce several categories of crime while improving response and investigative capacity.
Montgomery, describing the department’s philosophy that “small things matter,” credited two consecutive budget cycles that added deputies with enabling the creation of a traffic unit and other specialty teams. He told the board the office now runs four patrol shifts, a traffic unit, a K‑9 unit and an accident‑reconstruction team, and that deputies carry AEDs and Narcan. He said the office deployed AEDs five times and administered Narcan 13 times in 2025.
On K‑9 operations, the sheriff reported recent figures the department presented to the board: since 2023 the K‑9 program has recorded 569 deployments and the unit recorded 441 total finds with a roughly 76–77% “success” rate in those deployments, generating 229 arrests in those cases. Montgomery said the dogs are used both for criminal work and for finding missing persons, and he emphasized community outreach with canines at public events.
Traffic enforcement was a focal point. Montgomery said the new traffic unit wrote more than 6,500 summonses in 2025—up from roughly 3,800 in 2024—and that the county saw 152 fewer traffic accidents year‑over‑year, which he attributed to data‑driven enforcement and targeted operations. He also said DUI and drug arrests increased in 2025, which he tied to more proactive enforcement rather than necessarily higher underlying criminal activity.
Montgomery outlined investigative capabilities: a major‑crimes investigations division that handles burglaries, sex crimes and homicides; membership in an Internet Crimes Against Children task force; and in‑house digital forensics and crime‑scene experts. He also described accreditation and recognition: he said the sheriff’s office is a state‑accredited agency and that the county is a certified crime‑prevention community.
The sheriff listed recent and pending grant‑funded purchases that officials say support investigations and traffic reconstruction, including Bosch forensic tools and a device (referred to in the presentation) that scans sealed bags to identify suspected fentanyl without opening them. He also noted a port‑security grant that funded a marine patrol boat on order.
Board members praised the department’s outreach and crime‑prevention work, asked about the school‑zone program and camera coverage, and pressed Montgomery on courthouse capacity. The sheriff said jury trials are increasing and agreed with the court system’s request for a new or expanded courthouse to handle longer trials and more frequent trial days.
Montgomery finished by reiterating his message about community policing and said the department would continue efforts to reduce crime through presence, partnerships and targeted enforcement.
