Fort Cherry School District Police Department is one of the oldest school police departments in the area. It is a fully sanctioned law enforcement agency with arrest powers. Chief Buchowski is the only full-time officer but utilizes 6-8 part-time officers that ensure safety at after-school activities such as sporting events, dances, proms, the alternative education program, and school board and community meetings. The department is also assisted by both the Mt. Pleasant Twp. Police and McDonald Police Departments. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is also in place with Cecil Twp., Smith Twp., and the PA State Police departments for events such as natural and man-made disasters, active shooter incidents, etc..
In 2014, FCSD underwent a massive security update to ensure the safety of its students, staff, and visitors. The number of cameras on campus quadrupled and has given the police department greater visibility of live events going on inside and outside both buildings and around campus. They can also caption and record events to be used as evidence in future legal action. Mt. Pleasant Twp. PD, McDonald PD, PA State Police, and the Washington Co. 911 Center also have access to the live feed of all cameras so they are aware of what their responding officers are getting into prior to arriving on campus. Both buildings are now using the key swipe entry system to gain access to various parts of the buildings. All district employees are issued ID cards with a security strip embedded within them that gives them permission to enter at certain times and days of the week and particular building. Chief Buchowski is the only person responsible for issuance of these cards. Through a Safe Schools grant, both buildings now use the Raptor system for visitors. This system runs the visitor’s name and date of birth through NCIC and CLEAN law enforcement reporting systems for any active warrants and/or Megan’s Law registrant. If a hit occurs in this system, it sends text messages to designated district personnel who respond accordingly. Also, through this grant, the district updated its two-way radios. Previous VHF radios left a few areas on campus with dead zones. The new UHF radios use a repeater system to help boost the radio signals and thus eliminate those dead zones. The radios are being utilized by the school police, all building principals, office staff, and several maintenance members to communicate necessary information amongst them.