County residents talk safety, connect with police at National Night Out events

Charmaine Coleman says she was drawn to Tuesday’s National Night Out at downtown Silver Spring’s Veterans Plaza to get a sense of community from others who came to the annual event sponsored by local law enforcement.

Despite growing concerns about safety in downtown Silver Spring expressed recently by other community members, the 23-year Silver Spring resident said she feels safe in the area and appreciates the number of security present.

“You get to know the people in the community and the people in the area so that you will feel safer because you get to know the people around you,” Coleman told MoCo360.

Held in numerous locations around Montgomery County and the nation, National Night Out is an event in which community members of all ages, county officials and local law enforcement come together for an evening of fun activities such as mini golf, push-up and pull-up contests and to listen to live music. The event is promoted as a way for residents to connect with their local police officers and discuss safety and enforcement work in their community, according to authorities.

At Silver Spring’s event, community members checked out a Montgomery County police department’s emergency services vehicle, participated in push-up and pull-up contests, danced with the mascot for the Nando’s restaurant and McGruff the Crime Dog.

Those attending also learned about the Silver Spring Safety Alliance program run by the Greater Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce and the police department.

Chamber President and CEO Stephanie Helsing told MoCo360 that the alliance was created after the chamber heard from community members concerned about crime in downtown Silver Spring.

“What [the alliance] does is it allows people to see that the business community understands their concerns and that we are trying to be an active part of the solution,” Helsing said. The alliance provides businesses with window signs stating they are part of the program and listing a phone number for customers to call if they see an incident or emergency.

Eventually, Helsing said the program will provide a wraparound communication tool that will allow the chamber, businesses and county police to share information about crime and safety in the downtown area.

County Councilmember Kate Stewart, who also attended the event, said that when it came to the perception of rising crime in the downtown area, the most important part is how people feel.

“Our job is to make sure that people feel safe coming to downtown Silver Spring, coming to eat, going to the stores, going to movies,” she said, noting that crime statistics have shown a decline in recent months in the area.

Stewart also noted the council has implemented measures to address crime and community concerns in the downtown area such as the police department’s Drone as a First Responder program, increasing the number of officers in the central business district and having more cameras surveilling the area.

She also pointed out the impact of a bill she introduced in February that restricts late-night business hours for hookah lounges and tobacco and vape shops, requiring them to close at 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.

“I’ve heard from our police officers that that’s having an impact and helping them be able to shift resources that they have,” Stewart said. “We’ve done a lot here in downtown Silver Spring and having people come out and really enjoy being out is important.”

At a National Night Out event in downtown Bethesda, officers from the police department’s 2^nd District set up a tent dedicated to the Drone as a First Responder program that will be coming to the Bethesda area within the next month or so. Police officials at the event said they are still looking for a high-rise building in the downtown area to use as a launch location for the drone.

Diana Bertocchi, who lives in the Randolph Hills neighborhood in North Bethesda, listened as an officer discussed how and when the drone would be deployed and asked questions about privacy.

Bertocchi told MoCo360 that the drone program was a “touchy subject” because of concerns about surveillance and privacy. Still, she understood the program’s goal of helping police respond to 911 calls more effectively and liked the idea of “trying something new,” she said.

Bertocchi also noted that she was interested in the cost of the drone program.

“I know there’s going to always be the initial costs and it will get cheaper as it goes on,” she said. “But that is the concern is too: Are our tax-paying dollars being used wisely?”

During the event, 2nd District Commander Amy Daum walked along Norfolk Avenue and talked with community members as well.

She told MoCo360 that despite recent reports of increased shoplifting in downtown Bethesda, crime in other categories has gone down, including property and violent crimes.

“Even despite some sensational incidents that have caught attention through the media and have certainly exploded on social media, in downtown Bethesda crime is down,” she said. “It remains an extraordinarily safe place to come out, enjoy our restaurants, enjoy the nightlight, community events.”

Daum also said the National Night Out event is a way for community members to see that law enforcement is an active part of the community and to ensure that community members are involved with local police. “That is part of why this town thrives,” she said.