Montgomery County police were out in force last night in Friendship Heights. At least six marked police cruisers were parked up and down the 5400 and 5500 blocks of Wisconsin Avenue between the Chevy Chase Building and the Collection at Chevy Chase. There was no public statement regarding the high-profile deployment by the police department.
Burglars have forced their way into a salon on Western Avenue, and into DePandi at the Collection, over the past week. However, there have been far more break-ins in other parts of the county, and those have not resulted in such a visible display by the police. The last time there were police cars on every block in Friendship Heights was during the riots and looting of 2020.
14 comments:
There should be sufficient funding and staffing of MoCo Police for shows of force like this to be permanent and conspicuous in target-rich areas like this.
What the MoCo Council fails to appreciate is that crime is the most expensive cost for a community, whereas the cost of adequate police staffing actually pays for itself through increased residential/business investment and the tax revenue associated with it. If you don't have safety, you don't have anything. People won't live/work/play/shop in areas that they consider unsafe, and they definitely will not open or maintain a business in an area that they consider unsafe if they have other options elsewhere.
It might be due to the Saks break in as well?
https://twitter.com/MoCoPGNews/status/1493001222416175107
2:36: Very possible. There's another classic example of a crime not included in the database and/or crime report, but is caught by someone monitoring a scanner and would otherwise be unknown to the public.
Or they could be getting ready to seal the perimeter in case any of those incoming truckers decide to venture out of the city and into the county...
I had 3 Beggars beg me for money within 20 min near the METRO Station at Friendship Heights on Sunday Afternoon. One chased me up the escalator on the METRO and another begged me for money from the street while I was making a deposit at an ATM Machine and still kept yelling at me up the street for not giving him money.
I have a feeling there is a 3 step process to neighborhood break-down. The first is Beggars out in force feeling they have nothing to lose begging for money. Then, the real criminals come in and start to break in and rob businesses. The next step is violent crime.
We saw all this before up at the Shops of Wisconsin in Bethesda a couple of months ago when a man was shot to death for the marijuana he had on him in the same week as a man robbing a hair salon right after dark at gunpoint and stealing customers pocketbooks and cell phones.
I think when the an armed robbes isn't araid to come in right after it gets dark even before 6PM and think they can get away with it that's pretty brazen !
And let's not forget the little Walgreens Pharmacy on Arlington Rd in Bethesda that had 2 armed robberies within 2 months to steal drugs.
Or - and hear me out - beggars and robbers have always existed and this is not the end of days.
@9:26 PM is spot on here.
@2:36 & 3:24 PM This event is listed in the database as Incident# 201364141.
@11:44AM Would you like us to resemble Beijing, Singapore, or a Gestapo state, with militaristic control of the streets? This is not a productive use of our police force by any means. Officers sitting on the corner, or walking around and around the block, just to offer the sign of retail protection and you should know it, if you don't already. We, MoCo, are not immune to the crimes of the urban/suburban world we live in. Get a grip.
@9:21 AM: Is that really how you see an adequate police presence on the streets? A "Gestapo State"? Would you prefer they be undercover instead? Nah, you probably wouldn't want that either.
I'm not going to let you lecture me on your "virtue" when you don't actually want the presence of police to deter and stop crimes in targeted areas. Your view is borne of privilege and entitlement.
It's true that MoCo is not immune to crimes... but you don't want an effective immune response to protect the community. How selfish and privileged of you.
Or, 7:51, maybe you're the privileged one? I certainly feel on edge when police purposefully make their presence in an area known as some sort of "this neighborhood is protected" show. The warm cuddly feeling you seem to get from a PD show of force is far from a universal or normal response.
@11:37 AM: Those police are stopping crimes from occurring by being present. You feel on edge from the presence of police? Why is that? Did you have a bad experience with an officer? Are you afraid of doing something wrong?
I conceal carry, and the absence of police presence is the reason I do that.
Sooo.... question for you: Would you prefer that I conceal carry or would you prefer the presence of more police so I didn't have to conceal carry?
I like having safety. I wouldn't describe it as a warm, cuddly feeling when I have it.
Or, option C, no police state and skittish randos don't walk around with guns. It's called a functional society, if you want to try it out sometime.
@7:29 This would be fine if Democrats didn't hand out no cash bail for people that need to be held in prison or leave our country with essentially no borders. A sovereign country is one that respects borders and law abiding citizens, liberals should try it out sometime.
@7:29 AM: The Second Amendment of the Constitution. You should try reading it sometime. Fortunately your fantasies, fears and delusions don't trump my Constitutional rights and I don't have to listen to or abide by your attempt at "Option C". I'm readily participating in functional society, which necessitates the presence of law enforcement to ensure the safety of the community at large.
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