Officials in Montgomery County, Maryland, held a news conference Wednesday on their efforts to cut crime in downtown Silver Spring, emphasizing that progress is being made despite challenges that include police department staffing levels.
Noting that crime for the first quarter of the current year seems to be trending downward, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said the county has seen just one homicide so far this year in comparison to an average of “seven per quarter over the last three years.”
He said carjackings are down as well.
“Is it victory? Not necessarily,” Elrich said at the news conference.
Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones said crime overall in the county was up 10% in 2023. Referring to downtown Silver Spring, Jones said the area “accounted for 9% of all of the crimes in the county.”
Jones said the police department has leaned into using technology to help fight crime, including license plate readers and the “drone as first responder” program.
The drone has been deployed 454 times since its introduction, often effective in apprehending suspects. Jones said that with those 454 deployments, response times have been shortened, and, in other cases, the drone has been able to relay data showing that police were not needed on a given call for service.
Jones also said the way police are being deployed allows them to be more effective.
“I’ve directed patrol officers based on crime data,” Jones said, explaining that the “evidence-based” approach puts officers where they’re needed most at any given time. The department has partnered with the Silver Spring Safety Alliance, Jones said, and has promoted more foot and bike patrols to engage the community and keep up with concerns of residents and businesses.
“But again, there’s more work to do,” Jones said.
Keeping downtown Silver Spring a “place for everyone”
Montgomery County Council member Kate Stewart, who led the effort to change closing times for late night businesses, including hookah bars in downtown Silver Spring, said she was determined to keep Silver Spring a “place for everyone.”
“I’m here as someone who lives, works, and plays right here in our downtown Silver Spring area and has done so for nearly three decades,” said Stewart, who represents Silver Spring.
Stewart said she and her colleague on the council, Evan Glass, held a meeting on a weekend last year and heard from hundreds of residents.
“We really listened to their concerns,” she said.
Stewart said the newly-passed bill that closes late night businesses at 2 a.m. on weeknights and 3 a.m. on weekends is designed to help ensure people get home safely from enjoying late nights in Silver Spring.
Stewart said more businesses are coming to Silver Spring, including several restaurants and coffee shops.
“If you need to be caffeinated, you need to come to downtown Silver Spring,” Stewart joked.
When asked her thoughts after the conference, Ilhan Cagri, a member of the Silver Spring Justice Coalition, expressed skepticism over whether the legislation that calls for uniform closing times for bars and hookah bars would have an effect on public safety.
“The hookah bars are not allowed to serve alcohol,” Cagri said. “So if we’re talking about rowdy behavior, it’s not coming from the hookah bars.”
Elias Woldu, with the Ethio-American Chamber of Commerce, said the business owners have concerns beyond the immediate incidents of theft or robberies that might occur.
“We don’t want people to fear [coming] to Silver Spring to do business,” Woldu said.
He added that “there is no way they can do it by themselves, so we have to coordinate our efforts.”
Crime is “nothing new,” but taken seriously
Vicky Warren, who described herself as a longtime Silver Spring resident, said her family bought a house within walking distance of Sligo Creek Park and the Silver Spring Metro station over three decades ago.
“Thirty-eight years later, we’re still in that same house,” Warren said. “Crime here is nothing new.”
Referring to a 2008 shooting on a bus in Silver Spring that killed a 14-year-old boy, Warren said “in the ensuing years, the overall crime rate in downtown Silver Spring has ebbed and flowed.”
“We’re in this together,” Warren continued. “The government leaders, the police, the business community and residents.”
Elrich spoke to reporters after event, expressing a commitment to addressing the crime.
“There’s no one tool that’s going to fix all this,” Elrich said. “But we want people to know that we’re taking this seriously.”
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