Safety

The Penguin has posted an article about car thefts in Silver Spring, specifically mentioning South Silver Spring, which is located within the 3^rd District, beat G-1. Two vehicles in South Silver Spring were stolen:

• '02 Dodge Intrepid at King St & Eastern Ave on May 1
• '06 Dodge Caravan at 8000 block Eastern Ave on May 7

Drivers should fortify their parked cars with steering-wheel locks, alarms and common sense before walking away, Silver Spring’s top cop said Thursday.

The advice comes after 43 vehicles were reported stolen in the third police district since the beginning of the month.

Read more.

SSSNA Neighborhood Meeting Minutes

Members: Henry Odeniran, David Fogel, Evan Glass, John Murphy

Guests: 3^rd District Police Commander, Betsy Davis; Sgt Kevin Sullivan; Community Services Officer, Joy Petile; Officer, T.M. Brenner; Daniel Owusu, D.C. Regional Manager of Baywood Hotels; Ben Stutz, Assistant of Valerie Ervin.

First Agenda: Neighborhood Safety

Introduction

Glass: Concerns over building safety at the Aurora Condos. Introduced police offers, SSSNA members and new South Silver Spring Website.

Davis: 3^rd District Commander; covers 32 square miles of the Silver Spring area. 3^rd district has a motor squad of 6-7 officers and an undercover unit that tracks robberies and drug solicitation.

Davis disclosed that Kennett street garage is a big issue in the South Silver Spring area. Stolen cars are the biggest problem particularly Hondas and Ford Crown Victorias. She suggested that going to www.montgomerycountymd.gov is another way to communicate with police or for recruitment.

Petile: Community Services Officer in charge of environmental design. Petile has been overseeing the crime issues on the new pedestrian bridge in Montgomery Hills. In the South Silver Spring area the stats show an attempted burglary at the 7900 Block of Eastern Ave. Stolen vehicles were 2 Ford Crown Victorias and 4 dodge models. Petile urged everyone to use antitheft devices. She is a big proponent of steering locks. She said you should not leave items in your car. Aftermarket stereo console systems that are removable, jackets etc, should be kept out of view.

She also suggested leaving titles, car registration, ATM receipts etc out of your car; make copies of the registration. There were pamphlets handed out and a number for suspicious activity to contact is 301-279-8000. ICE (In Case of Emergency) can be entered in your cell phone.

Sullivan: Sgt and evening supervisor for downtown area. He contributed the crime activities in Silver Spring to a transient population from the surrounding jurisdictions. He disclosed that people come in vans in large groups to attempt auto theft at the Kennett Street Garage.

T.M. Brenner: Officer suggested if you see a potential suspect that it is imperative to get detailed characteristics and write them down. The information goes to a crime analyst first then it is put into a database.

Glass: Asks for more info on how the Travel Lodge and Days Inn are linked to the crime activities.

Petile: Comments that only 1 or 2 incidents have happened there in the past six months. Said the motels are not the main cause of crime in the area.

Owusu: D.C. regional manager of Baywood hotels representing the Travel Lodge and Days Inn. Commented that they have tried a number of crime reducing measures. They have tried to use a system of profiling but they reach the possibility of legal situation because of that. Said they do ID checks and have onsite overnight security from 6pm to 6am. Disclosed that since November 2006, 3 incidents from at 11am, 6pm and 8pm have occurred at the Subway Restaurant at the corner of Eastern and 13^th street.

Commented that they also use deterrents like security cameras, lighting, façade upgrades, environmental design and recording license plates but they cannot record them if they do not park on the motel property.

Attendee: Wanted to know how closely they worked with the D.C. police.

Davis: Commented that they work with the D.C. police but they cannot apprehend suspects that cross the state line if they have committed a violent crime. For car theft they can go into Prince George’s county.

Glass: Commented about hiring security for the Aurora Condos. The cost would be about $50,000, said high quality security systems are expensive.

Attendee: Commented about maybe hiring an off duty police officer.

Davis: Disclosed that most officers sitting at the desk are there because of injuries, they wouldn’t be s mobile as officers who are on the field. She also commented that hiring security guards is a mixed bag and no guarantee, quality depends on pay.

All officers questioned if there was a need for security and that the area was pretty safe. Commander Davis said she feels the area is safe and even recommends it to people looking for a nice location to move to.

On a final note Commander Davis reiterated the importance of accurate information like the difference between a robbery and burglary. She also noted a “Ride On” program where people can ride with a police officer for the night.

Second Agenda: Transportation issues

Introduction

Glass: Even introduces Ben Stutz, assistant for Valerie Ervin. She could not attend the meeting and has asked Ben to get community input.

Ben Stutz: Transportation issues are difficult to resolve, putting in a stop sign can take a long period of time. Disclosed that it took 10 years for the new cross walk on East-West highway to be implemented after continuous complaints from residents in The Blairs.

Glass: commented about what issues the community wants resolved. The following were noted by Evan,

• Crosswalks at the corner of Kennett and Newell Streets
• A crosswalk on East-West highway leading into the Blair Mill Arts Center.

Odeniran: Commented in addition to those issues that a left turn traffic signal at the corner of Georgia Avenue and 13th street is an urgent need. He also said speed bumps on 13th street should be implemented.

Fogel: Mentioned that quick enforcement of clean up for the neglected Galaxy lot on 13th street and other vacant lots that are planned for residential developments need to take place soon. DCHA is in charge of enforcement and fining.

Evan: Suggested the crosswalks should be implemented first.

Meeting adjourned.

I wanted to share with you some of the very informative information we received at Monday's meeting. Formal minutes will be posted at a later date.
-Evan

Police Report

At Monday's meeting of the South Silver Spring Neighborhood Association, residents had an open discussion about crime and safety with 3rd District Police Commander Betsy Davis, at which time she proclaimed, "I think you're a safe neighborhood."

Armed with crime statistics for the neighborhood detailing how many service calls are received about serious incidents in South Silver Spring during the last four months, Officer Joy Patil cited only one break-in attempt within a condominium.

The meeting was arranged so that many of the residents could be more informed as they debate increasing condo fees to include private security or concierge services within their own buildings. Some of those services range from $50,000 to more than $100,000 a year.

"I don't think some of those measures are necessary for this area," Cdr Davis said in reference to private security measures that can run tens of thousands of dollars a year. But she did say that investments should be made in security cameras and other preventative devices for individual apartments.

All four police officers that were present made clear that the most prevalent illegal activity in our neighborhood is auto theft from the Kennett Street garage: Hondas, Toyotas and Crown Victorias are favored by the criminals. Cdr Davis said that there are overtime officers who do patrol some of the area parking lots and that most of the theft is done in waves, from perpetrators coming in from other jurisdictions. We were all encouraged to use crime theft devices on our vehicles like "the club."

Many questions were also raised about the safety of the Days Inn and Travelodge motels on 13th Street. Daniel Owusu, DC Regional Manager of Baywood Hotels, said his company's properties do have private security on their premises from 6pm to 6am every day along with 24-hour security cameras monitoring the property.

Claiming to be the "victim" of some customers he called "undesirables," Mr Owusu said that he is proactive in calling the police when motel managers become aware of possible prostitution or large partying taking place in the rooms. He also said that the motels "tried a system of profiling" to ensure a more law abiding clientele, but realized that approach does not abide by Maryland law.

Aside from incidents of car theft and occasional activity at the motels, Crd Davis says the neighborhood is on the up-and-up, compared to what it looked like when she first joined the police force 22 years ago. "This is an urban area and things do happen," Davis candidly said.

Discussion then shifted to residents' ideas for making the neighborhood even safer, which included: exploring the idea of a private security patrol for the entire neighborhood; having neighborhood social events to build trust and good relations among the community; and maintain good working relations with our neighbors in Shepherd Park. In response to those suggestions Davis replied, "You're at the right step to prevent crime…You're in the forefront."

Pedestrian Safety

After the conversation with the police officers ended, conversation turned to pedestrian safety and Silver Spring's ongoing redevelopment with Ben Stutz from Councilwoman Valerie Ervin's office.

Since Councilwoman Ervin is a member of the Transportation and Environment Committee, residents attending the meeting were happy to give Mr Stutz the following laundry list of items where pedestrian safety needs to be improved:

• crosswalk at Newell St & Kennett St
• crosswalk at Kennett St & 13th St
• slow speed mechanism on 13th St
• crosswalk across East-West Highway leading to Arts Alley/Blair Mill Arts Center
• better traffic signals at 13th St and Georgia

Mr Stutz expressed displeasure by the lengthy time table that accompanies any requests for traffic changes, but noted that the key to getting projects approved quicker is by having a lot of written support by residents, condo boards and community associations.

xxx

Silver Spring Scene also covered last night's meeting:

The South Silver Spring Neighborhood Association (SSSNA) held a community meeting last night at the Eastern Village Condominium complex. Invited to give an update on crime in the area was Commander Betsy Davis of the 3rd district. The commander is a long time Silver Spring resident that covers 32 square miles of the Silver Spring area.

Along with her were officers, Joy Petile, T.M. Brenner and Sgt. Kevin Sullivan.

The district includes a motor squad of six to seven officers and an undercover unit that covers robbery and drug trade amongst other things.

more...

The Silver Spring Penguin has covered some of the details from last night's South Silver Spring Neighborhood Association meeting with Commander Betsy Davis.

Hookers, drugs and auto theft are still issues for South Silver Spring, but things are on the up and up, said Cmdr Betsy Davis (above), the third district’s top cop.

Speaking to the South Silver Spring Neighborhood Association Monday night, Davis acknowledged that auto theft was an ongoing problem, particularly at the Kennett Street garage.

more...

More details of the meeting will follow later this week.

Our neighbors at Eastern Village will be hosting the next SSSNA meeting on Monday February 26th at 7:00pm.

Eastern Village is a secure building, so arrangements will be made for all attendees to enter through the main entrance (through the courtyard) at 7981 Eastern Avenue.

Remember that this important meeting will largely focus on crime/safety issues with Silver Spring Police Commander Betsy Davis and two representatives from Montgomery County Councilwoman Valerie Ervin's office. This is a great opportunity for us to figure out how to proceed with the security needs of our own buildings and discuss possible solutions as a community.