Although it’s only February, the Prince George’s County Police Department has seen its fair share of crime this year, including car thefts and violence near or around school property.
Prince County Police are warning motorist to refrain from warming up their vehicles without anyone behind the wheel. Officers say unattended vehicles are easy targets for car thieves who have been preying on cars left running in the driveways.
Prince George’s County Police Department Spokesman, Jennifer Donelan, discussing the anti-theft program addressing winter car robberies in the County.
In January, 37 cars were stolen because drivers cranked the vehicle and then went back inside their homes. According to Prince George’s County police, this is one type of crime that could be greatly reduced simply by not leaving a vehicle unattended even on the owner’s property.
“We are urging people to please stay in their vehicles when they are warming up,” said Capt. Ken Humble of the Prince George’s County Special Investigation Division. “Even if you want to run outside for a short period of time, it is not worth losing your car.”
Humble said many cars have been stolen by teenagers going to school who simply take the vehicle, take a joy ride, and then drop it off. He said the message is simple, “Warm Up Your Car, Stay in Your Car, Keep Your Car.”
In addition to car thefts the county has witnessed a sudden increase in violence near area high schools. Last week two teenagers were charged with the shooting of a 17-year-old in the parking lot of Oxon Hill High School. In Riverdale a 16-year-old Parkdale student was stabbed several times in a gang-related incident.
The spree of violence has come to the attention of Maryland State Senator Anthony Muse. He attached an amendment to a bill in this legislative session calling for a community taskforce to find new ways of dealing with the uptick in crimes committed by teenagers. “We need to get ahead of this violence before it happens,” Muse said. “The money that was supposed to go to schools from the casinos, I put in an amendment to make it go to schools to bring together students, teachers, and parents in various parts of the county to make sure that violence is not the norm.”
Muse represents the residents in Oxon Hill. “This happened in my District. It scares me. I know a lot of those of students who are there,” he said.
Last month Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker, flanked by a host of law enforcement officials, said violent crime in the county had dropped to a seven-year low, despite the recent events. “We have seen an incredible reduction in both violent crime and the volume of crimes in Prince George’s County,” Baker said in a statement. “This reduction in crime is a key reason for the County’s economic success that has contributed to our leading the region and state in job growth, subsequent state-best increases in our residential and commercial property values, as well as improving our quality of life.”
While the recent car thefts and school violence are a concern for the police and a prompt to act, during a press conference at police headquarters Chief Hank Stawinski said there was an 18 percent drop in homicides and a drop in other crimes. He stressed that these reductions were related to the evolution of a different strategy in policing that “incorporates property crime, violent and fatal collisions.”
Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks said at the time, “The best thing has not just been technology, but really strong relations in our community, so when they get in the jury box and we put up evidence, they have to be able to trust our word and the evidence that we are presenting.”