Noting that violent crime appears to be up in a number of areas in the city, Mayor Colin Byrd said he had asked Chief of Police Richard Bowers to update the Greenbelt City Council at the February 22 regular meeting. He said he hoped to find out how the city has been addressing it and whether there are other things that can be done.
Bowers said crime had indeed increased and was up across the board. He said the ones that stood out were the four homicides, three of which were in Franklin Park and one in Greenbriar. He noted there were small increases in theft, as well as in burglary, assault and robberies. Overall the increase was about 7 percent from 2019 to 2020, with violent crime making up 16 percent of all the crime in the city.
Over the same period, in Old Greenbelt crime overall went down 13 percent, with violent crime decreasing by 68 percent. In Greenbelt West, crime overall went up by 38 percent, with violent crime increasing by 73 percent and property crime increasing by 23 percent. In Greenbelt East, overall crime went up by 19 percent and crime against property went up by 21 percent. There was no change in violent crime in Greenbelt East.
In Beltway Plaza, overall crime was down 26 percent, attributable to its having been closed much of the year. But violent crime increased by 50 percent, while property crime was down by 48 percent.
At Metro, overall crime was up 40 percent, with two violent crimes reported but no change in property crime.
For Greenbelt Station, overall crime was up 53 percent, violent crime was down 100 percent and property crime was up 62 percent.
For the city as a whole, violent crimes increased 23 percent in 2020. Vehicle thefts were down 5 percent, and thefts were up about 4 percent.
“It’s not just us,” Bowers said, but the county as a whole. For example, homicide was up by 65 percent, and carjacking was up almost 70 percent in Prince George’s County. He added that Prince George’s County and Washington, D.C., have put out combined carjacking taskforces. Carjacking doubled around last May and has continued to rise.
Bowers said what they have been doing includes increased patrol presence and deploying cameras in “hot spots.” They also encourage crime prevention. For example, one thing that has been happening in the cold weather, especially in Franklin Park, is that people are leaving their cars running while taking in groceries before they park, and the cars are stolen in what is called a “jump-in.” In one outreach effort police patrolled for merely one hour and stopped 15 drivers from leaving their cars unprotected.
Bowers said the key word in much of this behavior is “Covid.” People are at home, not working. Recreation facilities are closed. There is a big increase in juvenile offenders, and the schools are closed.
Councilmember Judith Davis said the economic situation is surely a factor too, as are the close quarters many people are living in, which might well contribute to increased domestic crime. Ultimately, opportunities for crime need somehow to be eliminated, such as items left in cars, or the cars themselves when left unlocked.
While the matter has not been solved, Councilmember Emmett Jordan said he thought the topic merited a worksession.