George Mathews, the Greenbelt Police Department community relations liaison, is retiring June 18 after eight years in this position and a total of 42 years in law enforcement. Mathews started his career for the City of Hyattsville as a dispatcher and then as a police officer. Mathews related that he wanted to become an officer after befriending many of the Hyattsville officers while working as a dispatcher.
“I would ride with many of these officers in their cruisers after my shift was over and I witnessed many officers going that extra mile to help people,” stated Mathews. “I liked the idea it doesn’t take much to make someone’s day.”
After his training, Mathews worked as a police officer for two years in Hyattsville before joining the Greenbelt Police Department as a police officer. He spent the next 23 years with Greenbelt, retiring from active duty in 2009 with a total of 30 years spent in law enforcement. For the next four years Mathews did not sit quietly at home. He landed a position with the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commission, working as an instructor in the Community Outreach Division. Mathews developed and implemented a gang awareness program, traveling all over the State of Maryland conducting trainings. “This was a great position for me, it taught me a lot, how to speak to community groups and other officers,” Mathews told the News Review.
In 2013 he accepted the community relations job in Greenbelt, the first civilian to hold this position. Being the press contact person for the department is one of his main duties and he is on call 24-7. He is responsible for the weekly crime report and is a liaison for the department with the city Youth Advisory Committee. Mathews enjoys working with young people and, as a crisis intervention counselor, another one of his duties, he has worked closely with the Eagle All-Stars, a mentoring program located at Springhill Lake Elementary School.
The job has changed over the years due to social media. “Citizens are informed very quickly about a crime incident, road closures or crime trends, which is a good thing,” said Mathews. Explaining further, he stated that through Facebook, Twitter and the Neighbors website, information is driven out quickly as an incident unfolds, to people who need it, which takes pressure off the police. Mathews says he has worked hard to educate the public about crime trends, such as the recent rash of car thefts, by putting out videos, press releases and citizen advisories warning people not to leave their cars running with the keys in the ignition even for a moment.
This past year during the pandemic Mathews missed dealing with people in person. “It sort of took the wind out of my sail for a while,” he stated. He went on to explain that it took a lot to maintain relationships within the city, something he values greatly. Mathews has many fond memories of the people he has worked with through the years and the friendships he has made, telling the News Review, “I value these personal relationships and friendships more than ever… looking back, I will miss this.”
Mathews plans to keep busy in his retirement by spending more time with his wife, two daughters and friends. When asked what advice he would give to the next person to fill his shoes Mathews stated, “Be all in with the community, love the people and show empathy, you have to like working with people and kids.”
