The Summer Crime Initiative Hangs On The Assumption That A Violent Wave Is Coming<br/>

On June 29, via a Facebook live stream, Prince George’s County Police Department held a press conference highlighting their approach to preventing, they believe, the potential increase in summer carjackings and other crimes.

Deputy Chief Administrating Officer of Public Safety and Homeland Security Barry Stanton and Prince George’s County Police Chief Malik Aziz lead the press conference. Stanton said their goal for this summer is to protect communities and reduce crime.

“School is out, and the weather is hot,” said Stanton. Social interaction has increased and boredom has set in. This is a perfect combination for increased crime in the summer. Summer usually results in a rise in crime.”

Before firing off the summer crime initiative - Chief Aziz said, “We cannot arrest our way out of a crime problem.” He reiterated this point throughout the press conference, even as he spoke about ramping up police presence in areas deemed hot spots. He said the department wants to focus on the quality of arrests and not the quantity.

Here is what Chief Aziz outlined as the department’s approach to curb potential violence this summer. He said officers will be deployed to areas where the crime is the most. He said traffic police units will be “deployed to enhance enforcement to reduce car crashes,” address car meetups, racing and speeding, car fatalities, and crime.”

Not only that, but he said the Strategic Investigation and Narcotics Enforcement Division will utilize its best tools to prevent carjackings and gang violence.

He said the police department will make an effort to check on local businesses and to continue to partner with the community and its youth to build bridges through its various community-oriented programs - like coffee with police officers, feeding the hungry, and athletics. However, Chief Aziz said the department can’t do everything.

“We are only one cog in the wheel,” he explained.

The press conference was held after Mayor of D.C. Muriel Bowser's office released amendments to a council-approved crime bill that sought to improve its approach to crime. According to some residents, that bill – which has not been approved– could potentially be the cornerstone for increasing D.C. youth incarceration. Following that release, D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto held a public hearing to discuss the bill, which lasted for more than two hours. Some residents spoke about the problematic parts of the bill.

This point is important to report because Prince George’s County Police Department and The DC Metropolitan Police Department announced a joint partnership in cracking down on carjackings and other crimes in the area. Both institutions’ rhetoric around the issue of carjackings and other violent crimes has been somewhat similar. Additionally, both D.C., Prince George’s County, and Baltimore City have enforced unproven youth curfew laws.

Chief Aziz even talked about reinforcing the curfew. But it has never been publicly stated the curfew had ended. Earlier this year, while on WAMU’s Politics Hour, February 10, 2023, County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said the curfew was still in effect.

“ We are continuing to enforce the curfew with great success,” said Alsobrooks. “ I want to thank Prince George’s County families who really did step up to assist us. Many have stepped up, helping to protect their children.

(It should be noted here that there is strong scientific research that shows youth curfews do not work. They do not curb crime. Starting in September, for the most part, in Texas, youth curfews cannot be used. The Intersection reported this fact and offered solutions to help curb juvenile crime. Additionally, again, as far as The Intersection can confirm – it is not clear that it worked).

Many have asked if the curfew would be reimplemented for this summer, according to Chief Aziz.

“Implementing the curfew remains a viable tool. However, it is not in the first phase of this summer crime initiative,” he explained. “We intend to keep it as a tool as we assess, evaluate and re-evaluate this initiative.”

Stanton went on to tout the county executive's summer program, which has limited spots for thousands of youth in the county. Over the years, Prince George’s County Police Department has had a poor reputation in the county. Over the last 3 years, the county has paid out nearly $28 million to victims of police brutality.

But outside the role of police officers, they both touted the county executive's youth job programs. Such programs have helped to enroll hundreds of kids. However, the openings for youth are limited. When doing some audience engagement last Spring, we talked to residents about some of their needs in the county. A resident living near the Suitland area lamented the fact that the youth don’t have enough programs.

Furthermore, residents at many town hall meetings continually recommend more recreational programs. These programs, they argue, could possibly help to rope juveniles into more community activities and away from the streets.

Alsobrooks has attempted to increase family and juvenile recreational programs in the county, but was unsuccessful. In 2022, the Alsobrooks administration tried to get HB 1057 passed through the state legislature. Prince George’s County Park & Recreation is under the umbrella of the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties' property taxes are the primary funding engine for the commission, according to Maryland government. The commission operates the county’s park and recreation programs. If the bill had passed, it would have created the Prince George’s County Recreation Authority. Potentially, the recreation authority would have had the freedom to use its funding to create more programs independent of the commission. Furthermore, such an act would have aligned Prince George’s with Montgomery County, which pulled its funding from the M-NCPPC in the 1950s. Due to its independence, Montgomery County Executives appoint Directors of Montgomery County Recreation – and those directors report to the County Executive. For several reasons, the bill did not move forward, and no separate authority was commissioned. So the county’s park and recreation department remains under the commission's authority.

Earlier this year, during Aisha Braveboy’s 2nd Annual Justice Symposium, Del. Nick Charles acknowledged the recreational gaps for youth and said a workgroup had been established. He said they would be looking at ways the county can use the funds to create more recreational activities and examine how the funding is spent. However, it is not clear if the workgroup was ever established.

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