Since the onset of the pandemic, Prince George's County - a majority-Black community of nearly a million people - has seen a sharp increase in homicides. This year, Prince George police have investigated at least 55 killings as of Friday
For their first crime walk of the summer - the time of year when violence often spikes - Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and newly appointed police chief Malik Aziz rolled through the streets of Capitol Heights, Md., a town bordering the District of Columbia that has recently been hard hit.
Since the onset of the pandemic, Prince George's County - a majority-Black community of nearly a million people - has seen a sharp increase in homicides. But in Prince George's, where law enforcement and lawmakers have taken pride in successfully lowering violent crime rates over the past decade, the pain of that progress disappearing especially stings.
But officials say the public - parents, educators, religious leaders, community organizers - must be at the center of their efforts. And the work must span job support services, mental health, youth recreation and smart policing. Falling crime rates in Prince George's, which ran parallel to national trends, were a relief for residents and a point of pride for law enforcement and political leaders.At a news conference the year prior, Alsobrooks, then the county's state's attorney, touted their success. It was the fourth consecutive year of reducing crime.
County council member Mel Franklin, D-At Large, told the chief that after years of bringing up other issues, residents were again citing crime as their top concern. And he said he feared that the police department - which is the smallest it has been since 2012 - does not have enough officers.The chief said later in interviews he has been meeting with faith leaders, civic organizations and community organizers to get a sense of what residents need and want from their police department.
In Prince George's, some residents say they've experienced a growing sense of unease - not only because of the number of killings but also because of the prevalence of carjackings, which have spiked regionally and nationwide. Hardy said she has experienced firsthand how the crises of the last year spurred violent attacks in her community. While her school building was empty to adhere to pandemic health guidelines, one of her students was shot and killed a couple blocks away from her house. Another student was charged with stabbing the owner of a laundromat.
The pandemic shuttered schools, youth sports, youth ministries and after-school programs. Economic instability impacted young people, who watched as the adults in their lives lost jobs, income and homes. An inflection point for the county came on a Saturday night in April, when a gathering of hundreds of Maryland and D.C. teenagers in a parking lot outside the Dave & Busters in Capitol Heights turned deadly. A 13-year-old was shot and killed. A 12-year-old, police said, pulled the trigger.
The chief said one of his priorities is shoring up relationships with other federal and local law enforcement areas across Maryland, Virginia and the District, including reinstituting a program with D.C. police that partners their officers with those in Prince George's.
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