Brentwood committee to address public safety

Anti-crime officials issue first report, recommend Neighborhood Watch

The report, presented July 15 to the Town Council, contained a series of recommendations, including printing bilingual materials to inform residents of public safety agencies.

"It came up again and again that people were confused as to who they should contact and what are the phone numbers," committee member Nina Young said July 31 during a Town Council work session.

Residents told the Town Council of crime concerns after a drug-related double-homicide near Quincy Street in October, Mayor Bettyjean Bailey-Schmiedigen said. In December, the Town Council appointed a five-member committee made up of residents to make recommendations to the town. They interviewed police officials, community groups and local officials in their research.

The committee found that the most common crimes in Brentwood are classified as nonviolent — theft, drug trafficking and prostitution — but that the town needs to compile clear and concise crime statistics available to the public.

Brentwood has one fulltime and one part time police officer, supervised by Mount Rainier Police Chief Michael Scott, dedicated to patrolling the town, and seven contract officers from the Prince George's County police department.

Since January, 26 reports have been filled by the Mount Rainier department for incidents in Brentwood, including recovering stolen vehicles, theft and one arson. Scott said this is probably an increase over last year, since a fulltime officer just started patrolling only Brentwood this year.

Bailey-Schmiedigen said the town has already looked into implementing a number of the recommendations, including working with Mount Rainer and county police to identify repeat Brentwood offenders to characterize the type of crimes they commit and monitor their status.

The town is also looking to hold workshops with local law enforcement officials for residents to come and ask questions about crime activity and trends, Bailey-Schmiedigen said.

The report also said graffiti from two gangs — the Little Brown Criminals and the Queen's Town Gang — is appearing in Brentwood, according to police.

The two gangs operate areas of Mount Rainier, North Brentwood, Brentwood and Langley Park, among others, Scott said. The gangs aren't as large as other regional gangs like MS-13, but they are found in many nearby areas in the county, he said.

The committee recommends having the Prince George's County Gang Unit present to residents tips on how to identify gang activity, including the meanings behind certain colors, clothing and graffiti.

Councilwoman Marlene Robinson said a comprehensive action plan is necessary in improving public safety.

The council praised the report and in particular its emphasis on galvanizing community members in being vigilant about crime in their community.

"The key element in this has to be the neighborhood watch program, because this is only going to be successful if we get every resident to buy into the neighborhood watch," Councilman Roger Rudder said.

Councilman Verron Bretemps said some residents tried starting neighborhood watch about 10 years ago, but activity slowed as participation dropped. He said motivating residents to monitor their communities "so that it becomes a part of their daily routine" is important to making sure public safety efforts are sustainable.

"Unless [people] see something really good happen, or really bad happen, they tend to drift away," he said.

The Town Council will meet again in September after its August recess. The Anti-Crime Advisory Committee and the council will develop an implementation plan based on some of the recommendations in the report.

E-mail Elahe Izadi at eizadi@gazette.net.