Photo: Tony Hausner talks public safety with the neighborhoods committee. Credit: J. Dese/SSP.
Ideas for keeping Silver Spring safe were crawling out of the woodworks at last month’s public-safety summit. Now the summit’s organizers want to know how to turn those ideas into action.
“The biggest success [of the summit] was that we had so many outstanding recommendations — too many,” Tony Hausner, an event organizer and Indian Spring resident, admitted to Silver Spring’s neighborhoods committee Monday night.
The summit’s original goal was to set up neighborhood watches, Hausner said. But that objective soon ballooned into a 22-point action list covering things like after-school programs and a teen center in downtown Silver Spring, as well as gang-prevention workshops for kids and adults.
Police staffing and training held a spot on the action list, too. Previous head counts at the third district police station put the number of officers there at less than 85. That’s for a beat stretching from Eastern Avenue to the Howard County line. And that kind of coverage wasn’t cool with summit participants.
Spanish-speaking participants also said language and cultural differences were a barrier that made interacting with the police a tricky thing. Some cops even ask about immigration status when unnecessary, Hausner added. MoCo policy mandates that police officers forward the names of suspects busted on violent crimes to federal immigration authorities, but it’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” on the status of victims or witnesses.
“There are police officers who come up to the victim and ask, ‘Where are you from?’ ” Hausner said. “For the victim, that just intimidates them.”
Along with more boots on the ground and things to do with the kids, the summit’s organizers hoped to make more use of technology in dealing with crime. Listservs could be beefed up to keep communities in touch with the PD, the action list stated. And security cameras could be planted in the central business district and trouble spots, though Hausner admitted that one was a hot privacy potato.
“I’m sure some people would object to it,” he said.
So what the hell is the next step? A discussion on a safe place to put those kids, citizens advisory board member Kathy Stevens said. The topic will be high on the agenda for the next neighborhoods committee meeting in July.
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This group should consider going to/ providing information to the county’s advisory committees on justice issues. These groups include residents from the county and work with the justice system actors in the county to address these sorts of things. The County Exec.’s office should be able to put this group in touch with the advisory committees.
Good suggestion, PM. I think the summit organizers bounced that idea around. Action point no. 6 is:
The organizers are also in touch with the citizens advisory board and CSAFE, a state program.
“…boots on the ground”? Please let’s not be OK with that phrasing.
Ok… at risk of getting my head handed to me… eh… what exactlly is the issue with the phrase “boots on the ground”? Pretty commonly used phase to specify throwing more people at a problem… last I checked it wasn’t sexist or prejudice… women and minorities are all free to wear boots…. I’m waaay confused
“last I checked it wasn’t sexist or prejudice… women and minorities are all free to wear boots…. I’m waaay confused”
I second the confusion.
Yeah, I was confused, too. But then I ate a donut, and my confusion became apathy. Yay, donuts!
I think it’s a military thing.
Just saw this posting. If anyone wants the summit reports, please send email to safesilverspring@gmail.com
or if you would like to work with us on this.
tony hausner
Yeah, the phrase “Boots on the ground” is definitely a military thing. As anyone who has ever seen “Spartacus” knows, having a nation’s military tromp through the streets of its own cities is not a good sign of the health of that nation’s democracy.
Besides, this would violate the Posse Comitatus Act (in general, no use of federal troops for domestic law enforcement). Still, it’s good to be on guard, because laws have a way of being ignored when society get scared.