WASHINGTON — Prince George’s County police officers have been ordered onto 12-hour work shifts to help stem a rising tide of violence.
This morning in Forestville, a man was found shot to death and another man was wounded. And Sunday evening in Suitland, two men were shot to death.
“Due to the number of disputes that have recently turned violent and deadly, the chief elected to move the entire agency to 12-hour shifts,” said Jennifer Donelan, spokeswoman for the Prince George’s County Police Department.
Police Chief Hank Stawinski has also ordered to the streets a number of officers currently assigned to desk jobs.
“This is a proactive move by the chief in an effort to signal to the community that this is a priority for us,” Donelan said. “We’re putting officers on the streets, where they’re needed.”
The homicide rate in Prince George’s County, 51, is now higher this year than at the same point last year, when it had reached 50. There has been a wave of killings in the first 11 days of July, beginning with the mysterious July 1 fatal shooting on the Capital Beltway of Adriano Lombre, 55, of Upper Marlboro. Police continue to ask the public for any information on the attack that happened on the Outer Loop near the Pennsylvania Avenue exit.
Donelan could not say when the stepped-up deployments might end.
“We are being strategic about it. There is no timeline on this,” Donelan said.
The department is also moving aggressively to hire and train cadets, Donelan said, and has recently reached an agreement to partner with Prince George’s Community College on a joint-education/police training initiative.
