For Immediate Release: Thursday, July 3, 2025
Committees will review police radio encryption, consent search policy, false alarm reduction regulations and a report about street classification and the master planning process
The joint Transportation and Environment (TE) and Planning, Housing and Parks (PHP) Committee will meet on Monday, July 7 at 9:30 a.m. to review Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) Report 2025-5, Street Classification and the Master Planning Process.
The members of the TE Committee include Chair Evan Glass, Councilmember Marilyn Balcombe and Council President Kate Stewart.
The members of the PHP Committee include Chair Andrew Friedson, Council Vice President Will Jawando and Councilmember Natali Fani-González.
The Public Safety (PS) Committee will meet at 10 a.m. to receive a briefing about police radio encryption, an update on the police consent search policy, and review Executive Regulation 12-25, Policies, Procedures and Fees for Alarm Businesses and Alarm Users.
The members of the PS Committee include Chair Sidney Katz and Councilmembers Dawn Luedtke and Kristin Mink.
More detail on each agenda item is provided below.
Review: The joint TE and PHP Committee will review OLO Report 2025-5, Street Classification and the Master Planning Process: Dynamic Policies / Static Documents . The report studies the role of the Montgomery County Code, master plans and functional master plans in the street classification process. The purpose of the report is to support the resolution of conflicts among the policies and recommendations contained in these documents related to the classification of streets. Report 2025-5 includes an overview of County land use planning documents, a discussion of the role of each of these documents in the street classification process, and a review of the public accessibility of street classification information.
Briefing: The PS Committee will receive a briefing about the Montgomery County Police Department’s (MCPD) recent rollout of full police radio encryption. Many MCPD tactical groups have been utilizing encrypted radio for more than 10 years. The remaining non-dispatch groups were encrypted when the County transitioned to the new public safety radio system in 2021.
According to MCPD, encrypted dispatch communications protect caller and victim privacy, as well as officer safety. Notably, encrypted radio shields personally identifiable information that is regularly transmitted in dispatch communications, including individuals’ names, addresses, medical conditions, or criminal backgrounds. Encryption also helps reduce swatters (individuals who falsely report emergencies) by limiting their ability to listen real-time to the public safety response.
Dispatch communications will continue to be recorded and available through Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) requests. Additionally, MCPD’s Public Information Officer (PIO) will continue to provide timely, accurate, and transparent information on incidents throughout the County, to the media and through the department’s social media platforms.
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Police Consent Search Policy – Implementation and Outcomes
Update: The PS Committee will receive an update on the implementation and outcomes of MCPD’s consent search policy. At a meeting held on Dec. 9, 2024 , the PS Committee received a briefing on the use of consent searches and its new policy , which made several changes meant to ensure searches are not arbitrary or coercive, particularly when used in communities of color. This briefing will follow up on the previous meeting and provide additional details on the new policy experience.
A consent search occurs when a police officer obtains consent to conduct a warrantless search from a person. The December 2024 policy changes are intended to ensure that an officer has a reasonable, articulable suspicion to request consent to search. Additionally, an officer must record the interaction on body-worn camera video, use a new phone application or an alternate written form to have the person decline or approve the search, and collect certain demographic and contraband information. The new policy also requires mandatory supervisory review of the consent search within five working days.
Executive Regulation 12-25, Policies, Procedures and Fees for Alarm Businesses and Alarm Users
Review: The PS Committee will review Executive Regulation 12-25, which would repeal and replace Regulation 1-19. The new regulation increases certain fees within MCPD’s false alarm reduction program. The changes include increasing the biennial alarm user registration renewal fee from $10 to $20 and increasing the alarm user registration fee from $30 to $60 for commercial alarm users. In 2024, according to MCPD, there were nearly 89,000 registered alarm users in the County and 8,889 recorded false alarms. MCPD estimates that in 2024 there were approximately 6,900 alarm calls that did not require police dispatch, the equivalent of 4,649 hours of officer time, for an estimated savings of nearly $1 million. The fiscal impact statement estimates that County revenues could increase by $260,000 if Executive Regulation 12-25 is approved, with total estimated revenues of $1.6 million for Fiscal Year 2026.
The Committee meeting schedule may change from time to time. View the current Council and Committee agendas, Council staff reports and additional information on items scheduled for Council review on the Council website .
Council and committee meetings are streamed live on the Council’s web page via YouTube and on Facebook Live and can be watched on County Cable Montgomery on Xfinity/RCN 6 HD 996/1056, Fios 30, and on the CCM live stream .
Release ID: 25-235
Media Contact: Sonya Healy 240-777-7926, Benjamin Sky Brandt 240-777-7884
For updates and link to press release, see here: http://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=47322