Maximum Inconvenience Planned for Criminals in Greenbelt East

The Greenbelt Police Department has this year in Greenbelt East to address residents' concerns that crime is shifting from the west to the east in the city, causing a spike of activity in Greenbelt East.

In its , Greenbelt police were joined by Prince George’s County police and a representative from the Office of the State’s Attorney. They passed along these crime fighting measures to more than 100 concerned citizens who had gathered in Eleanor Roosevelt High School.

Law and Order Share Crime Fighting Advice

Don’t Be a Victim: Maj. Amal Awad, Commander of District II with the Prince George’s County Police Department encouraged people to take control of their safety and not be a victim. “I don’t get gas at night. I don’t go to the store at night, and I’m a police officer,” she said. “Don’t go to a gas station at night to get gas. You’re going to get carjacked."

Dog or Pretend Dog: Dogs or the appearance of a dog can offer crime protection, according to Cpl. J. Foote with the Prince George’s County Police Department, who encouraged people to put a water dish out back with a cheap rope toy—even if they didn’t have a dog. He also said security systems were good, and that people should have good door locks that they lock at night along with their windows.

Lighting: Maj. Awad said lighting was the number one deterrent to prevent someone from being burglarized because suspects don't want to be seen. They go to the darker home. “Do I keep my lights on? Absolutely even during the daytime," Awad said.

Curfew Petition: Capt. Carl Schinner with the Greenbelt Police fielded questions from audience members who wanted a youth curfew in Greenbelt like the county’s curfew. Schinner said that Greenbelt does not have one on the advice of the city attorney. But for those who want to try to get a curfew in place, it would involve circulating a petition, Schinner told them.

Nuisance Abatement: Renee Battle-Brooks, assistant chief with the Office of the State’s Attorney, discussed a legal procedure called nuisance abatement.

Battle-Brooks said citizens who saw excessive traffic in their neighborhoods, such as cars that came and stayed for a couple of minutes or heavy foot trafficking — could call it in to the police. She also told them to contact the state’s attorney’s office, specifically she told them to contact Jean Huber, an administrative assistant in her office who compiles everything — at 301.952.2868 or jhuber@co.pg.md.us.

These types of traffic didn’t mean that drug activity was a fact, Battle-Brooks told them. “But I would say those are pretty strong indicators.”

People have to call every time they see suspicious activity, though, she told them, adding that the results wouldn’t be overnight because her office had to look at it and build a case. But hopefully in time, she said, they would see results.

Saturation Teams: The Greenbelt Police have a plan, one that Schinner pointed to as causing significant crime reductions in the city already.

Schinner said, “I have a patrol officer and his battle cry is maximum inconvenience for these people who go out and they prey on other folks.” Schinner told them that he planned to run them out of Greenbelt. “But we need you to call us,” he said.

This article is the second in a two-part series on crime fighting efforts in Greenbelt East. presented the Greenbelt Police Department's saturation team strategy and discussed the cooperation between city and county police.