Elrich and MCPD insist crime in Silver Spring isn't THAT bad

[Anonymous]

SOURCE: https://www.mymcmedia.org/elrich-perception-of-crime-in-downtown-silver-spring-is-worse-than-reality/

Downtown Silver Spring is out of control with shootings, car racing, shoplifting and other crimes.

That is the perception, agreed County Executive Marc Elrich. But it is not reality, he and the Montgomery County Police stressed.

“The perception of crime in Silver Spring is still there. It’s still real,” Elrich said during his weekly news briefing Thursday. “There’s still more crime than anyone of us would like,” but it is not as intense as some believe, he said.

And here's the MCPD with their angle:

According to Commander David McBain from the 3rd District, which covers Downtown Silver Spring, police receive the most calls for Downtown Silver Spring than anywhere else in the county. In 2023, there was an average of 117 request for service calls each day.

In the first two months of 2024, the number of calls increased, jumping from 7,600 in 2023 to 7860 in 2024, McBain said during a meeting with Safe Silver Spring on Feb. 28.

Aggravated assaults are increasing while auto thefts are dropping, he said. Burglaries, both commercial and residential, decreased 24% during the first two months of this year as compared to the same time period last year. “There’s been an uptick in theft from autos” of about 27%, he said.

There have been no homicides so far this year in the downtown area while there were two in 2023, McBain said.

And as for the large crowd gatherings that include car races, police say they have stopped many more before they even began.

Even if it's technically true, Elrich and MCPD should know there's a lag effect in the crime statistics going down and the actual intangible feeling of safety permeating with the general public. This kind of defensive messaging (brought to you by county-funded Montgomery Community Media) is counterproductive. If you're publicly saying it's not that bad, then you're implicitly implying there's a threshold of crime and chaos that you're comfortable with and that where we are currently isn't ideal, but should be acceptable enough that people shouldn't be talking about it as much as they are.

When will Elrich and MoCo actually get to work solving problems instead of complaining about people who have the nerve to talk about the problems out loud? Those of us talking about the actual crimes happening in our community are not the cause of it. It's not as if we stopped talking about crimes happening that they'd stop happening. So why is their energy and emphasis on the conversation about the problem and not 100% focused on making the source of the conversation (the real crimes happening in our community) go away?

[Anonymous]

How hard would it be to bring a mini-precinct back to DTSS? MPD has done this in a few neighborhoods, including Chinatown. Why not accept that moving the precinct from DTSS way out to Colesville was a bad idea, and open something up co-located with the fire station?

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't want my wife or kid walking alone on DTSS.

It's dumpsville USA.

Have they even captured any suspects yet wrt the random man shot to death in the parking garage?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How hard would it be to bring a mini-precinct back to DTSS? MPD has done this in a few neighborhoods, including Chinatown. Why not accept that moving the precinct from DTSS way out to Colesville was a bad idea, and open something up co-located with the fire station?

That sounds incredibly logical to me. Which means it is kryptonite to MoCo leadership.

[Anonymous]

I think what they are trying to say is. the fear mongering and gaslighting about crime is over the top.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think what they are trying to say is. the fear mongering and gaslighting about crime is over the top.

Based on what and whose standards?

[Anonymous]

Whatever they are trying to say, they aren't putting their effort where their mouth is. Nobody's cleaning up, scofflaws have impunity, the place has been under constant and constantly delayed disruptive and unsightly road/utility/facilities construction, parks, roads, medians and sidewalks aren't well maintained, schools are overcrowded, etc.

See also: the easternmost stretch in MoCo of University Blvd and connecting roads, the relative condition of/community disruption from Purple Line construction east of the MARC tracks, etc.

It would be one thing if the whole county were like this, but, very clearly, it isn't. When it comes to public services in MoCo, some communities are more equal than others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think what they are trying to say is. the fear mongering and gaslighting about crime is over the top.

It's not, though. I live in DTSS, and in the last year there have been multiple shootings in broad daylight, the unsolved murder of what appears to be a random bystander in the Wayne Avenue parking garage, a rash of Saturday morning muggings along Georgia Avenue, and more gun incidents than I can count at late-night hookah bars. About a quarter mile from me, a teen girl was mugged walking home from the bus stop at something like 7:30 pm. Within the last six months, multiple community businesses have been subject to armed robberies, including a shocking case where armed men burst into a crowded cafe and robbed all of the folks eating there.

The crime rate has absolutely changed how I live my life, and how much "freedom" I allow my teens. We moved here specifically so the kids could walk to places like the library or the dog park on Colesville, but they can't enjoy those amenities because of concerns about crime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How hard would it be to bring a mini-precinct back to DTSS? MPD has done this in a few neighborhoods, including Chinatown. Why not accept that moving the precinct from DTSS way out to Colesville was a bad idea, and open something up co-located with the fire station?

That sounds incredibly logical to me. Which means it is kryptonite to MoCo leadership.

Maybe they could take over the Starbucks space, since they are closing due to security concerns?

Honestly, it's such a shame. Montgomery County has invested so much in DTSS over the past fifteen years, and they appear to be ready to let it all go to waste because a small (but vocal) group of residents want to pretend there's not a problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How hard would it be to bring a mini-precinct back to DTSS? MPD has done this in a few neighborhoods, including Chinatown. Why not accept that moving the precinct from DTSS way out to Colesville was a bad idea, and open something up co-located with the fire station?

That sounds incredibly logical to me. Which means it is kryptonite to MoCo leadership.

Maybe they could take over the Starbucks space, since they are closing due to security concerns?

Honestly, it's such a shame. Montgomery County has invested so much in DTSS over the past fifteen years, and they appear to be ready to let it all go to waste because a small (but vocal) group of residents want to pretend there's not a problem.

It doesn't like residents are ones pretending there's not a problem. It's county leadership (Elrich) and the police stating that.

[Anonymous]

I’m listening on the police/ council work session now to see if they address this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How hard would it be to bring a mini-precinct back to DTSS? MPD has done this in a few neighborhoods, including Chinatown. Why not accept that moving the precinct from DTSS way out to Colesville was a bad idea, and open something up co-located with the fire station?

That sounds incredibly logical to me. Which means it is kryptonite to MoCo leadership.

Maybe they could take over the Starbucks space, since they are closing due to security concerns?

Honestly, it's such a shame. Montgomery County has invested so much in DTSS over the past fifteen years, and they appear to be ready to let it all go to waste because a small (but vocal) group of residents want to pretend there's not a problem.

It doesn't like residents are ones pretending there's not a problem. It's county leadership (Elrich) and the police stating that.

PP here. You are right. I was unclear. Residents (including all of the relevant neighborhood associations, many of the resident associations for apartment buildings, and the small business associations) are very concerned. As far as I can tell, every single one of the neighborhood associations has requested a meeting with MCPD to discuss the situation, and the two business associations have been very vocal.

There is a small group claiming there is no issue, but they are in a minority. Unfortunately, they have a fair amount of political power.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How hard would it be to bring a mini-precinct back to DTSS? MPD has done this in a few neighborhoods, including Chinatown. Why not accept that moving the precinct from DTSS way out to Colesville was a bad idea, and open something up co-located with the fire station?

That sounds incredibly logical to me. Which means it is kryptonite to MoCo leadership.

Maybe they could take over the Starbucks space, since they are closing due to security concerns?

Honestly, it's such a shame. Montgomery County has invested so much in DTSS over the past fifteen years, and they appear to be ready to let it all go to waste because a small (but vocal) group of residents want to pretend there's not a problem.

It doesn't like residents are ones pretending there's not a problem. It's county leadership (Elrich) and the police stating that.

PP here. You are right. I was unclear. Residents (including all of the relevant neighborhood associations, many of the resident associations for apartment buildings, and the small business associations) are very concerned. As far as I can tell, every single one of the neighborhood associations has requested a meeting with MCPD to discuss the situation, and the two business associations have been very vocal.

There is a small group claiming there is no issue, but they are in a minority. Unfortunately, they have a fair amount of political power.

Oh yes. The racial/social justice, anti-police activists. Yes, unfortunately, we have allowed their loud, minority voices to drive too much of our policymaking decisions in the county in recent years. Hopefully the tide is shifting against them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How hard would it be to bring a mini-precinct back to DTSS? MPD has done this in a few neighborhoods, including Chinatown. Why not accept that moving the precinct from DTSS way out to Colesville was a bad idea, and open something up co-located with the fire station?

How hard?

When viewed through the D-I-E prism, it’s not hard - it’s impossible. Increasing a police presence in a neighborhood is “literally murdering young men of color”.

Don’t you understand this?

[Anonymous]

All the Bethesda bars close at midnight on weekdays, and 2 AM on Friday & Saturday. Have no clue why SS establishments are allowed to be open later than that. Some of them stay open until 2 or 3 AM every day.

Regardless, the police need to blanket the area at closing time. That's when the problems seem to happen most.