With overall crime increasing for a third year in a row, the head of the local police union says some residents have begun to question whether it’s time to move away from Montgomery County.
“People don’t feel safe in their community,” Lee Holland, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 35, said in an interview with MoCo360 on Feb. 26. “It’s the No. 1 [county] issue right now.”
Holland said numerous people have told him that they are most afraid of being the victim of a carjacking or having their vehicle stolen because of the increase in these crimes as reported on Data Montgomery.
“I have family members who live down in the Kensington area who have had their cars stolen, and they’ve never had these problems before in that area,” said Holland, a Montgomery County resident.
Increasing crime, especially in incidents involving firearms, continues to be a major concern for officials and residents as the county and other local jurisdictions try to get a handle on an issue exacerbated by the pandemic and other social disruptions in recent years.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said in a weekly newsletter that he is prioritizing multiple initiatives to decrease crime, such as the Drone as First Responder Program, deploying license plate readers, adding more public security cameras and addressing staffing issues in the police department.
Overall crime in the county increased in 2023 for the third year in a row, according to a memorandum from county legislative analyst Susan J. Farag that was presented to the County Council Public Safety Committee in early February.
According to the memo, the county saw increases in reports of the following crimes:
- Auto thefts: 131.1% (1,401 to 3,238)
- Shoplifting: 38.1% (2,943 to 4,064)
- Homicides: 31.8% (22 to 29)
- Carjackings: 28.6% (77 to 99)
- Non-fatal shootings: 28% (182 to 233)
- Non-commercial robbery: 27.4% (361 to 460)
Also, opioid overdoses increased from 2022 to 2023, according to the memo.
In 2023, there were 346 opioid overdoses (96 fatal, 250 non-fatal), which was a 28% spike from the 271 overdoses in 2022 (81 fatal, 190 non-fatal), according to the memo.
The number of overdoses by youths showed a more dramatic increase, rising from 48 to 98 from 2022 to 2023, according to the memo.
The report noted that the pandemic and social disruptions resulting from the murder of George Floyd in 2020 in Minneapolis as well as police staffing shortages and criminal justice reform in many jurisdictions may have contributed to increases in crime, the memo said.
One of the report’s key findings is that “firearms continue to play a significant role in violent crime.”
From 2021-2022, firearm-related violent crimes increased by 8%, which was primarily spurred by spikes in aggravated assaults and robberies, according to the report.
From 2022-2023, these crimes increased by 16%, and the rise in robberies contributed to that trend, the report said.
During an early February interview, county Police Chief Marcus Jones said people are accessing guns more than ever before, which leads to altercations and violent acts.
“I think it’s important for the community to realize that there are more guns available on our streets today than I’ve ever seen in my career,” Jones said in an interview with MoCo360 after he announced his plans to retire July 1 after nearly 40 years with the county police department. “That’s disturbing.”
Holland said “harsher penalties for people who are possessing illegal firearms or who commit a crime using” a firearm are necessary to mitigate the rise in gun violence.
He attributed the increases in carjackings, firearm offenses and auto thefts to a variety of factors, including recent juvenile justice reforms that he says make it more difficult to hold young people accountable. Younger suspects think “they can get away with any crime right now except for murder,” he said.
Jones also said that juvenile justice laws need to be adjusted to better fit the needs of the community.
“I think we need to have a better process for our Department of Juvenile Services to get young people into intervention programs,” Jones said. “Accountability is important. Particularly, we have a lot of young people who aren’t necessarily given clear direction.”
The 2022 Juvenile Justice Reform Act tightened the criteria under which juveniles can be charged with crimes, placed in detention centers and sentenced to probationary periods. The overall goal was to keep juveniles out of the judicial process and justice system as much as possible, according to the Maryland General Assembly.
One of the biggest changes: children younger than 13 can be charged only with offenses that are considered crimes of violence, such as murder, rape, first-degree assault, carjacking and abduction.
Holland also criticized the 2022 Child Interrogation Protection Act, which established more stringent requirements for law enforcement prior to and during a custodial interrogation of a juvenile.
Proposed legislation aimed at juvenile justice reform
This spring, state lawmakers are considering legislative proposals made by Democratic leaders aimed at tweaking the state’s juvenile justice system to combine accountability and rehabilitation.
One day after the House of Delegates in the Maryland General Assembly granted preliminary approval to a juvenile justice reform bill, the Senate did the same on Feb. 29. Senate Bill 744 contains 12 amendments adopted by the Judicial Proceedings Committee with many matching the House version, according to Maryland Matters.
Legislative leaders are looking to alter what offenses constitute juvenile crimes, the age range of those who can be kept in custody for certain offenses, and what kind of rehabilitative services youthful offenders are eligible for, according to Maryland Matters.
The amendments would require that:
- If a child between the ages of 10 to 12 is referred to an at-risk youth and prevention program, it must be a program managed by a law enforcement agency or local state’s attorney’s office, a local care team, or a community-based service provider.
- The Department of Juvenile Services must complete a three-year plan that includes programs for youth who are “at the highest risk of becoming victims or perpetrators of gun violence.”
- The Commission on Juvenile Justice Reform and Emerging and Best Practices be established.
Addressing police staffing shortages
The county police department continues to grapple with a staffing shortage and Elrich said in his Feb. 9 newsletter that “adding more officers is critical to…reducing crime.” As of the end of January, the department has 173 vacancies for sworn personnel, according to county police spokesperson Shiera Goff. The police department includes approximately 1,300 sworn officers and 650 support personnel, according to the county website.
At the Feb. 5 County Council Public Safety Committee’s meeting, Jones said that one step the department is taking to mitigate staffing issues is allowing retired officers to come back to work.
Elrich said in his Feb. 9 newsletter the county is hiring a recruitment firm to attract more officer candidates, increasing pay for officers, introducing a $20,000 signing bonus and is considering dropping the police department’s college degree requirement for applicants.
Holland also emphasized that the problems with staffing make it more difficult to patrol proactively in the county. People are more likely to commit crimes when they see a smaller police presence in public places, he said.
“You just don’t see law enforcement like you used to,” Holland said.
In addition to the statistics about rising crime, the Public Safety Committee’s report detailed decreases in the reporting of some crime categories.
According to the statistics, these types of crimes showed decreases in 2023:
- Counterfeiting/forgery: 50.2% (767 to 382 incidents)
- Drug distribution/manufacturing: 29% (186 to 132)
- Fraud and identity theft: 28.1% (4,287 to 3,081)
- Drug possession: 16.5% (1,535 to 1,282)
- Rape: 8% (413 to 380)
The police department has not released its 2023 crime report. Last year, police released the 2022 report in September 2023.