With violent crimes such as homicides and carjackings decreasing in downtown Silver Spring from 2023 to 2024, Montgomery County police officers patrolling the area are now working to address a continuing trend of vehicle break-ins and thefts, according to Third District police Commander Jason Cokinos.
Crime in general in downtown Silver Spring’s business district decreased by 7.6% from 2023 to 2024, the police department announced in a press release on Friday. The number of carjackings decreased by 68%, robberies were reduced by 24% and homicides decreased by 25% in the Third District, which includes the downtown area and parts of greater Silver Spring, according to the release. The department did not provide actual figures for each crime category.
The drop in reported crime follows an increase in crime in 2022 and 2023 in the county and in the Third District. Cokinos told Bethesda Today on Monday there was “a lot of violence, there was a lot of crime, there was near record homicides” during those two years in the district.
According to the department’s 2023 Annual Report on Crime & Safety, homicides increased 160% in the Third District in 2023. There were 13 homicides –an increase from five in 2022– out of the 29 total reported in the county in 2023. The department’s 2024 Annual Report on Crime & Safety has not been released.
While the latest crime statistics are “encouraging” and “worth celebrating,” Cokinos said there is more work to be done to address car break-ins and auto and retail theft in the downtown area.
According to Cokinos, although auto theft was down 40% and vehicle break-ins were down 25% from 2023 to 2024, automobile-related crimes are “significantly up” compared to 2019 statistics.
“Our challenge is a lot of our auto thieves and the people that are breaking into cars — they’re more regional crews. So, they’re going from Prince George’s [County] to [Washington], D.C., to Northern Virginia to Silver Spring,” Cokinos said. “It’s a lot of cross-border-related crime.”
In addition to vehicle break-ins and auto theft, shoplifting has become prevalent in downtown Silver Spring in recent years. According to Cokinos, incidents of shoplifting in 2019 as compared to 2024 have increased 128% in the downtown area.
“We’ve had a shoplifting epidemic,” Cokinos said.
However, Cokinos said the number of reported shoplifting incidents has fallen over the past few months. A combination of targeted enforcement and officers working directly with businesses and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office to prosecute offenders have helped to reduce the number of incidents.
“We have a long ways to go with that, but we’re starting to see a positive return on investment from our partnerships with the businesses,” Cokinos said.
Collaboration and teamwork are key
In the past year, key initiatives such as the department’s Drone as a First Responder Program, which recently expanded and launched in Bethesda, the Police-Private Security Camera Program and the department’s Real Time Intelligence Center have helped in reducing crime in the downtown area, according to Cokinos and the police department press release.
Despite the ongoing challenges, Cokinos said a perception that downtown Silver Spring is unsafe is not “necessarily accurate.” Those perceptions “were [accurate] maybe at one point, but we’re heading in a good direction,” he said.
He also noted that a late-night business safety bill passed by the County Council in May 2023 has had a “significant impact” on crime in the downtown area.
“We have seen a steep reduction in safety issues late night” after the legislation went into effect, Cokinos said. “Obviously the police are putting in a ton of effort. That’s our job — public safety. But we have a lot of people helping us. So that’s the mission for 2025: keep working as one big team because that’s working.”
Council President Kate Stewart (D-Dist. 4) echoed Cokinos’ sentiment concerning collaboration. She said the collaboration between the police department, elected officials, businesses and residents is a key part of addressing crime in downtown Silver Spring, which is within her council district.
The reported reduction in crime is “a reflection of our community coming together and excellent work by our police department,” Stewart said. “It’s about collaboration. … We all need to be talking to each other, sharing information and the resources.”
Stephanie Helsing, executive director of the Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce, said Monday in an email statement to Bethesda Today that the chamber was pleased to see the police department’s latest statistics for downtown Silver Spring. She also highlighted the collaboration between elected officials, law enforcement and the Silver Spring business community.
Acknowledging that “we are not completely out of the woods and still see a degree of crime committed by folks passing through Silver Spring,” Helsing said the collaborative efforts, open lines of communication, and “a willingness to think outside of the box and use various strategies” have had “a measurable impact.”
“As a result our community is safer and more secure,” she said.
Looking forward
Cokinos said Third District officers are now focusing on vehicle break-ins and auto theft. He noted that soon visitors and residents will begin to see a larger police presence in the county’s public parking garages in downtown Silver Spring.
He hopes that with more officers patrolling the garages, the downtown area will see fewer vehicle break-ins and car thefts.
Noting that enforcement initiatives and community partnerships are working, Cokinos said his district is going to “keep our foot on the gas pedal.”
