Photo: Russ · CC BY 2.0Who polices Potomac, and what they report
Potomac has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Montgomery County. The Montgomery County Police Department reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Potomac alone, and no Safety Grade.
What stands out about safety in Potomac
Policed by the county
Potomac is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Montgomery County Police Department’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Montgomery County Police Department covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Potomac. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest Maryland towns with their own police figures are Rockville (B−, 5 mi), Chevy Chase Village (C+, 7 mi), Gaithersburg (C+, 9 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Potomac. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Montgomery County Police Department reports
Crimes reported to the FBI for the whole area the department covers, by year.
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Montgomery County without police of their own, which include Potomac.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
Also reports crimes in Montgomery County to the FBI.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Montgomery County Police Department
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. Agencies that reported only zeros (the Sheriff’s Office here) are left out. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
The nearest Maryland towns with a Safety Grade
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockville | B− | 5 mi | 1.3 | 13.6 |
| Chevy Chase Village | C+ | 7 mi | 0.0 | 25.6 |
| Gaithersburg | C+ | 9 mi | 2.3 | 12.8 |
| Takoma Park | D− | 11 mi | 4.7 | 53.7 |
| Mount Rainier | D | 13 mi | 5.8 | 28.1 |
| Hyattsville | D− | 13 mi | 7.2 | 38.5 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Potomac. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Potomac.
Three people died in crashes on Potomac’s roads in 2019–2023
Potomac had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which three people died; 1 was a cyclist. 1 died in crash on an Interstate.
That is fewer than is typical for Maryland towns of 25,000–100,000 people: at their median rate (5.1 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Potomac’s size would see about 12 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Potomac’s own rate (1.3) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Potomac and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travilah | — | — | — |
| Rockville | B− | 1.3 | 13.6 |
| North Bethesda | — | — | — |
| Bethesda | — | — | — |
| Cabin John | — | — | — |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Travilah, North Bethesda, Bethesda and Cabin John are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- A county agency covers a wide area. Its totals mix many communities, so they say little about any one of them.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Potomac
Is Potomac, MD safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Potomac. Potomac has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Montgomery County. The Montgomery County Police Department reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Potomac alone, and no Safety Grade. The nearest Maryland towns with a grade are Rockville (B−, 5 mi), Chevy Chase Village (C+, 7 mi), Gaithersburg (C+, 9 mi).
Who polices Potomac?
The Montgomery County Police Department. Potomac is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Montgomery County without police of their own.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Potomac.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.