PEOPLE Matthew Blakelock Conroe ISD police chief
2022 EDUCATION EDITION
COMMANDING THE FORCE
Matthew Blakelock, CISD chief of police, is responsible for overseeing the third-largest law enforcement agency in Montgomery County.
BY ANDREW CHRISTMAN
The CISD Police Department includes:
Matthew Blakelock was named the Conroe ISD chief of police in June, replacing William Harness, and he is responsible for overseeing the 82 o cers that make up the CISD Police Department. Blakelock said his department is focusing its e orts on maintaining a safe environment for students and sta as well as de ning the overall role of the police department. Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
82 o cers, who provide 24/7 services for the district
2 narcotics canines
1 explosive-detecting canine 25 prevention control monitors/security personnel
CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR CAREER UP TO THIS POINT? I have been a law enforcement o cer for going on my 28th year, all of that being in Montgomery County and the last 24 years here with the Conroe ISD Police Department. I was a sergeant here for 14 years before serving the last four years as captain, which was a new position with the police department at the time. WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE ROLE OF THE CISD POLICE DEPARTMENT? Our role is to [ensure] our students,
our sta and our visitors can come to our campus; kids can receive an education; and our teachers can continue to teach, and they cannot do that unless they feel safe. We are only a part of the safety matrix; a police department cannot keep a school district safe; it takes everybody. ... Our o cers take part in the safety committee for the di erent campuses; they are part of the threat assessment process. They are on campus every day, and they are where the kids are. As people arrive at school, they see a CISD police o cer making sure every- body is safe. When kids go to lunch,
the o cer is there so they can interact with them, get to know them, and be a mentor or role model. WHAT ARE YOU SEEING AS THE FUTURE NEEDS OF THE DEPARTMENT? Well, the district is growing rapidly. That means the police department needs to grow along with the district. ... We are working every day to maxi- mize the police presence we have on campuses. Currently, we do not have an o cer at every campus all day long, and we rely on our other law enforcement partners. ... We reach
100 crossing guards
SOURCE: CONROE ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
out to some of the other agencies whose jurisdictions lie where some of the schools are, and we ask them to assist us. I think having a presence there is extremely important.
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CONROE MONTGOMERY EDITION • AUGUST 2022
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