Public Safety Forum At Bishop McNamara High School Provides Platform For Conversation On Crime

By Raoul Dennis

On Feb. 4, District 6 County Councilmember Wala Blegay did what few freshman leaders choose to manage within their first two months in office: she hosted a packed public safety event that drew the participation of county, state and federal leaders and public safety and first response directors.

On balance, the subject matter – local crime - has created a rising pitch of concern among residents and homeowners. She says the community has demanded answers as to what will be done about recent violent crime. “The killing at the Campus Way South Exxon was the one that hit home,” she said.

Blegay believed the public safety forum – launching a direct dialogue - would be a great start.

Although county efforts such as the recent curfew enforcement and a new initiative to support and encourage homeowners to place cameras on their property are making progress, residents remain concerned about the progress of law enforcement in keeping neighborhoods safe.

**District 6 County Councilmember Wala Blegay discusses the issues with residents at public safety event held on Feb. 4 at Bishop McNamara High School.**

**Chris Hammond speaks with an officer.**

Nearly 150 residents gathered in the gymnasium of Bishop McNamara High School.

Panelists included Prince George's County Office of the Sheriff John D. Carr, Prince George's County Office of the State’s Attorney Aisha N. Braveboy, Prince George’s County Police Department Deputy Chief James McCreary, Director Ronald E. Gill, Jr., Office of Emergency Management, Director Euniesha Davis (a representative from the office attended in Davis’ place), Office Community Relations, Chairman Nick Charles, District 25 MD House of Delegates and U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey who joined the panel as well.

Dr. Bobby Manning Sr., Pastor of the Heights Church of District Heights, MD served as moderator.

The panelists fielded questions from residents on a range of crime-related issues from break-ins and carjackings to drug-related criminal activity and violent crime. While law enforcement directors reported having plans and initiatives that address their concerns, the most consistent response they shared that weakened their efforts came down to staffing. Law enforcement and public safety need more people to meet the needs of county communities.

“In a perfect world, we would like to have an officer on every corner of every street,” said Deputy Chief James McCreary. “We are always working to develop new and innovative ways to address the lack of staffing.” He noted there is an expectation for officers to get out of their cruisers in neighborhoods when they are not on emergency calls, walkthrough, and engage community members.

**Residents wait on line to share questions with the law enforcement and legislative panel Feb 4.**

“You can have all the laws you want, but if you don’t have the staffing to address it then it won’t be addressed,” Blegay said.

There are other blocks to reducing crime. They include juvenile offenders being treated as children deserving of rehabilitation rather than punishment, parents not being legally held responsible for the criminal actions of their children, the seeming catch–and-release flaw in the judicial system, and current loopholes in ghost gun legislation.

Blegay said that the next step includes addressing the matter at upcoming budget hearings. “That’s why the budget hearings are so important,” Blegay continued noting that decisions to allocate additional funds for public safety should not become hard budget losses for other county needs.

Responses to the forum varied. While residents were glad to see leaders stepping up to confront crime, several hoped for more specifics from the event.

“It was a good start. I was able to make some connections with law enforcement in my district,” said a woman from District 2 of the panel.

Another resident said that she learned the importance of reporting quality of life incidents as well as criminal activity because doing so increases the data points for law enforcement to apply toward higher budgeting.

A District 6 resident had greater expectations from the panel.

“My questions weren’t answered today. I would like to have seen them come here today with a bit more specifics to share with us from the state’s attorney saying ‘we know what you’re talking about, we’re watching it. Here’s what we know so far,’” says homeowner Chris Hammond who’s concerned about a lingering drug-related crime hub in his neighborhood. “[But] I’m not throwing out the baby with the bath water. Maybe I caught them off guard [with this level of expectation today]. I will go back to them and ask again.”

At the state level, Del. Charles delivered on specifics including his announcement of some $21million from the state that will be aimed at public safety.

“The good part about having a new governor in Wes Moore is the partnership that the Democratic Party now has. [He] can give us the information that we need. Wes Moore is doing just that. I reached out to his office to find out how many resources, how much money he will be sending to the budget specifically for Prince George’s County in terms of all of the public safety issues and they brought forth all the proper dollars that I’m looking for,” he explained. “And we’ve got some good people – we’ve got the chair of the Appropriations committee and the Prince George’s delegation. We have the right people in the right rooms at the right time and with that right partnership with Moore, I think it will put Prince George’s County in the right direction.”

Charles continued:

“I think it went well,” Charles said of the forum. “We had everybody come together and all the right people in the room to discuss these issues. That’s the only way we move anything forward. And we’ve got to have the community feedback and insight to a lot of these problems. We get calls and text messages, we get emails but having that one on one [forum] really brings the issues home.”

That is what Blegay intends.

“We want people to know that we are doing something about crime and their concerns,” Blegay said at the meeting’s close. She’s eyeing discussions with her staff to reinvigorate and fund neighborhood watch efforts and better street lighting among other tactics. But her biggest move is to next focus on the budget hearings. “We have budget issues. We’ll also look at bills and legislation, too. But really, a lot of these issues, are budget-oriented.”