Lower Crime, Non-Headline

Photo by pingnews.com

“There are very, very few violent crimes” in Lexington Park, Capt. Steve Hall, commander of the special operations division of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office reported to the Lexington Park Business & Community Association last month.

The erroneous safety perception of Lexington Park, Capt. Hall and Cpl. Angela Delozier explained to the Lexington Park Business and Community Association, is likely the result of the proliferation of nuisance crime.

Not to minimize nuisance crime, they emphasized. Nuisance activity is very off-putting, from loiters to prostitution to public drunkenness. At the very least it cuts into customer traffic, and its growth can destroy the economy of an entire community.

Still, crime is down in St. Mary’s County, so an uptick of holiday burglaries in Lexington Park drew the officers to the meeting where they offered a crime prevention assessment and prevention program for business.

Suggestions as simple as reshaping shrubbery, where to install an alarm and establishing business-to-sheriff communication lines are among the procedures the program offers. Despite the simplicity of many of the suggestions, Cpl. Delozier said  the program had proven very effective in reducing crime and hastening apprehension when crimes are committed.

Contact the sheriff’s office at 301-475-8008.