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Brentwood is considering reestablishing its police force, at the behest of an anti-crime advisory committee and residents.

More than 220 people signed a petition this summer calling for Brentwood to re-establish its police force, Brentwood Anti-Crime Advisory Committee member Nina Young said. Committee residents went door-to-door to get the signatures.

"Residents want to re-establish their police force, and we actually, with very little effort, had more individuals endorse the petition than voted in the last [municipal] election," Young said.

In the 2009 Brentwood municipal election, 205 votes were cast.

In December 2008, the town council appointed a five-member committee made up of residents to make recommendations to the town related to public safety in the wake of a 2007 double-homicide.

Brentwood had a police force that disbanded in the 1970s. The town is only one of three municipalities in Prince George's County that has no police force.

At present, the town is policed by five contract officers from the county police department, each of whom works a maximum of 17 hours every two weeks in the town, an arrangement that is costing the town $80,000 this fiscal year, Mayor Xzavier Montgomery-Wright said.

The town also has an agreement with Mount Rainier in which one of that town's officers works 40 hours a week in Brentwood at a cost of $83,751 annually.

According to the committee report, Brentwood residents made 2,865 calls for police service in 2008 and 1,195 during the first half of 2009. Brentwood has 2,844 residents, according to 2000 U.S. Census Bureau statistics.

The report states that the town needs a 24-hour police force to tackle its crime and estimates that re-establishing a force of one chief and three officers would cost the town $375,000 initially and $307,000 annually to maintain it.

Much of that money can be received through state and federal grants and tax credits, but the council first must re-establish the department to be eligible for the money, Young said. She added that re-establishing the force should happen in phases, by first hiring a chief who can then apply for grants to bring on additional officers.

Without a municipal force, the town isn't eligible for state and federal grants to pay for crime prevention and intervention programs specific to Brentwood, such as community policing and youth programs, Montgomery-Wright said.

She added that the lack of a municipal police force can leave Brentwood vulnerable and could lead criminals to believe that committing crimes in the town might be easier than committing them in towns that have police forces.

The report's findings were presented during a Sept. 1 town council meeting.

At that meeting, Councilwoman Marlene Robinson said the town has a fiscal responsibility to ensure that it can pay for a police department before starting one.

"I don't believe in putting any service in place based on what you think you're going to get [from grants]," she said.

Resident Robert Dixon has lived in town since the 1970s. He said during the meeting that crime has worsened through the years, adding that he and his neighbors have been victims of vandalism, attempted break-ins and car thefts.

"I really think we need a police department here, very, very badly," he said. "I've seen crime like you wouldn't believe."

Resident Tonya Harrison said the town should embark on a pilot program and hire one officer first before re-establishing an entire department.

"I don't really see where there's not a presence of police officers," she said. "What is the problem with the current situation?"

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