Candidate Question Three: How Have You Fought Crime?

Patch posed five questions to the . We will publish their answers in separate posts. Candidates were asked to answer in 200 words or less.

Question 3: What have you done as an individual, apart from voting in council, to bring crime down in Greenbelt?

: I have participated in static crime watches in Greenbriar. I took part in the Greenbelt Citizens Academy given by our police department in order to experience what it’s like from an officer’s point of view; I have encouraged reinstatement of this worthwhile program. As I hope everyone does, I serve as the “eyes and ears” for our police department, which cannot be everywhere and which depends on citizens to alert them to crime. For example, I called in the license tag of a parked vehicle occupied by a suspicious person in front of my building late one evening, which forewarned the responding officer that the owner was possibly armed and definitely a risk. When illegal handbills end up on my windshield or at my door, I turn them in to our code enforcement to prosecute. I do the same with illegal, unsafe signs posted along our roadways. At civic and homeowner meetings, I recommend the formation of neighborhood crime watches in their community and pass along valuable anti-crime tips. Above all, I accept responsibility for my own personal safety by remaining aware of my surroundings and strongly urge others to do so as well.

I have voted to support our police department, cameras, call boxes and other measures. 

I am a firm believer in prevention. I think it is better to educate people than to incarcerate them later in life. Many studies have shown that children who attend a quality preschool program are less likely to turn to crime later in life. One study found that children who did not participate in the preschool program were 70 percent more likely to be arrested for violent crime by age 18. Another study found that early childhood education provided $11 in crime savings for every $1 invested. Active in preschool cooperatives for over 30 years and the immediate past president of Parent Cooperative Preschools International, I have strongly promoted affordable early childhood education and developed resources to support preschool cooperatives. 

In addition, I have advocated for educational programs as a member of the National League of Cities Human Development Steering Committee.  There and at other NLC programs, I have gathered information and ideas to support crime prevention. Recently, I brought back and shared ideas to combat gangs. Finally, I regularly attend National Night Out activities and urge people to take responsibility for their own safety.

: Not being on council, I’ve not voted, of course, to keep crime down in town; but as an individual I’ve committed to keep the crime I commit to a minimum.

A suggestion to us all, the emphasis on public safety, like the emphasis on national security, is a ruse: if we are all afraid—very afraid—we will be so concerned otherwise we won’t notice the action of council and mayor (and city management), and won’t notice the action of Congress, president (and national management), and intermediate levels of legislative, executive and management authorities; or their respective inactions.  We always should remember the dictum of our revolutionary sage, Ben Franklin: we would deserve neither security nor liberty.

: Thanks for this question. My answer is a long list. Here is a partial summary. Over many years I have been the most persistent advocate for increasing the number of police officers and have generally been successful. In many other ways, I have strongly supported our police department. I proposed the resource officer assigned to Eleanor Roosevelt High School. Several years ago, I initiated the effort to create a stronger public safety committee that would interact more closely with the police department. More recently, I was the leading advocate for installing surveillance cameras; some don’t like them, but they work.

Recent statistics show that crime IS down in Greenbelt, by almost 30 percent in the past year! I must be doing something right.

I have taken note of a recent trend for others to claim credit for things I accomplished. This does not bother me much. In fact, I like being on a council which has accomplished many things together and can share the credit for all the things that go right.

: As a councilman and as an individual, I support our city’s public safety activities. Perhaps the most important thing any of us can do to improve public safety is simply to understand what is being done and to try to foster better communication between public safety personnel and citizens. I make an extra effort to support civic and public safety activities in Greenbelt West. I know and interact with members of the Old Greenbelt Neighborhood Watch group. I keep abreast of issues discussed in the Public Safety Advisory Committee. I participate in
the National Night Out programs across the city. I am active in my homeowners association.

In 2009, I did a “ride-along” to get a better feel for what happens to our officers on patrol. I toured the police station to better understand how the dispatchers respond to answer emergency calls and to see how they monitor video from our outdoor cameras. I always try to speak with individual police officers, fire fighters and EMS workers (at the management and rank & file level) to understand the challenges they face. I am supportive of FOP efforts to protect the interests of unionized police officers through collective bargaining.

: I proposed and worked for four years to create a community policing plan that included Greenbelt’s first police bike patrols, and put additional police officers in our communities. I am proud of this initiative, and will continue to work on its expansion.

: As founder of the Greenbelt Arts Center, I can tell you of personal experiences where kids who were on the edge became involved in a positive endeavor of the arts, either on or behind stage. Further, consistent with studies establishing how the arts help with children's performance in school, most of the young people who have become involved with the arts center have gone to college and in some cases, have enriching jobs in the arts.

As a member of the Crime Prevention Committee in the early ‘80s, we helped encourage the development of the crime watch program in Greenbelt.

As a member of the Community Relations Advisory Board, I proposed a community outreach program. I am still advocating such a program, which takes the welcome wagon to a higher level, particularly in our apartment complexes, areas disconnected from the balance of the community.  Providing a sense of being part of a community, one's self esteem can be improved which yield more positive choices that an individual will make.

I was an assistant coach with the Greenbelt baseball program, another positive program which teaches kids basic skills of the game but more important how to work with each other as… (reached 200 word limit).

: I moved to Greenbelt from Germany in 1998 and lived in Springhill Lake, now Franklin Park. I was very surprised by the crimes committed in my neighborhood and refused to stand by and let it happen. So, I quickly became involved in reporting crimes, and soon after, I became a founding member of the neighborhood improvement team. This team included city staff from different departments, i.e., public works, code enforcement and police, as well as local residents and representatives from the apartment complex. We all had one goal in mind!—making this a better neighborhood and a better place to live for all. We fought for 911 emergency call boxes, cameras, and police officers on foot and bike patrol, as well as private security patrols and window guards in apartments where children reside. Subsequently, I applied and was appointed to the city’s Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC). I was soon elected chairperson and led the PSAC team for many years. Our work included all of the above and more. My hands-on involvement and determination shows that I am indeed committed to my community and all public safety issues.