WORCESTER COUNTY, Md. -- In a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, local law enforcement discussed why they feel schools in the county are no longer safe. The sheriff and state's attorney were pretty blunt, blaming school leadership.
This whole situation goes back months and it all boils down to what the sheriff and state's attorney said is a lack of transparency and action. Sheriff Matt Crisafulli and State's Attorney Kris Heiser said they have done their part. Now, the responsbility is on the board of education, the superintendent and other top education officials to take the necessary steps to make schools safer.
Tuesday's press conference began with a jarring and graphic five minute video, released by the state's attorney, displaying fights within schools walls. It highlights exactly what Heiser and Crisafulli feel is a dangerous environment in Worcester County schools.
"Here's the bottom line for our community, and we made this clear to the board of education months ago," said Heiser. "You are far more likely to be assaulted in a Worcester County public school than you are anywhere else in Worcester County."
Heiser went on to show data, collected by law enforcement and the schools, to back up that claim. It shows from 2019 to 2022, there was an 88% increase in the total number of incidents.
Those incidents include physical attacks on staff and students, verbal threats and fighting. To curb these acts, law enforcement gave the school system 13 different recommendations. To date, none of them have been implemented.
Crisafulli said it is now in the hands of school leadership to make a change, especially for younger students.
"For students under the age of 12, that means the school is the only entity that can investigate misconduct, identify offenders, protect victims and other students," said Crisafulli.
Worcester County Public Schools did not have a comment for us on Tuesday, but did tell us they will be discussing everything that was presented at a meeting on Wednesday.
The data compiled by local law enforcement has been attached to this article.
This is an ongoing story, we expect to have more information later on this week and update accordingly.