To the citizens of Calvert County
I have had the privilege of serving in the law enforcement community for the past thirty-five years. My tenure, both with the Maryland State Police, and the Maryland State Fire Marshall’s Office, has been that of a diversified and rewarding career. Some of the positions that I have held were with the Criminal Investigations Division, the Intelligence Division and the Executive Protection Unit which secured the well being of our State officials. In 1987 I was assigned to the Prince Frederick Barracks whereupon I decided to make Calvert County my home. I first established residence in the Chesapeake Beach area and subsequently built a home in Prince Frederick. Our community is unique in many ways, with its rich rural environment, our waterways which surround three sides of our borders, and our proximity to our Nation’s Capital.
Calvert County has and is a rich and diversified community. Our citizen’s want to rest assured that when they leave for work their families and property will remain safe and secure. Over the past five years I have noticed an alarming increase in criminal activity within our community, with no relief in sight. The days of leaving our doors unlocked while visiting our neighbors and families are over. While surrounding counties are reporting a decrease in criminal activity, Calvert County is reporting an increase. We cannot continue to accept this fact. We have given the current administration eight years to protect and serve our community and they have failed. Do we really deserve another four years of this type of service?
Once in office, I will work towards increasing the number of uniformed deputies patrolling our neighborhoods. This, along with an educational and outreach programs for our citizens, will effectively decrease the number of breaking and entering and crimes against property incidents. To further reduce criminal activity I look to create a Calvert County Sheriff’s Department (sub)station/office in the Dunkirk area. This will assist in the response time for our deputies and improve their visibility and availability.
Also, we will create and implement new partnerships within our community and shall always avail ourselves to your concerns and suggestions. Crime prevention and public safety is a partnership. Join our team and make Calvert County a safer community.
what is the pursuit policy for the sheriffs office? It seems like they have a very aggressive one, which would be ok 20 years ago when the population was smaller and less cars were on the road. Seems like you always see "Deputy in high speed chase with motorcycle" in the local newspapers. They have no business chasing motorcycles for offense other than a violent felony. Something needs to be done about this so that innocent people are not hurt or killed, lets face it, a traffic offense does not warrant a county wide high speed pursuit.
ReplyDeleteFinally some common sense has come into the debate over how law enforcement in Calvert County should be managed. The simple fact that crime statistics continue to rise at the same time that the staffing level on the Sheriff’s Department rises indicated a huge problem, and an equally huge waste of county taxpayer’s dollars.
ReplyDeleteWe don’t need endless specialized units, more deputies behind desks, away at specialized training or conferences or otherwise not providing a substantial and visible presence among the community in Calvert County. When was the last time you saw a marked sheriff’s vehicle patrolling your neighborhood back streets, and when was the last time a deputy stopped to talk to you and find out what was going on in the community and what your concerns were? I can tell you that it has been a very long time indeed since I had that kind of positive experience with the department.
There seems to me to be a shocking lack of responsiveness and accountability within the current leadership of the Sheriff’s Department. The Sheriff was, in my opinion, evasive with the public and media about the recent porn scandal, and appears the feel that elected officials are not as accountable as appointed officials. You can bet an official that could only keep his or her job in the short term based upon their performance would not have hidden behind rhetoric about personnel guidelines and privacy rights. OK, there is no need to name manes, a certain level of privacy is legitimate, but to arrogantly stonewall as he did is unacceptable, and come election time, his accountability clock may very well start to tick.
This is what I want. I want a Sheriff who is responsive and accountable to the voters and taxpayers who put him-or her- in office. I want a Sheriff’s Department that addresses my needs, even if it means giving up the high profile assignments for mundane things, like working with the public that they are sworn to protect.
I strongly support my Sheriff’s Department and its deputies, but maybe it is time for a change of course;. Maybe it is time to get back to basics. Sheriff Evans, please give me a logical and reasonable explanation as to why you spent my tax dollars expanding both the size of your agency and; oddly enough, the number of crimes committed in my county? Seriously, as citizens and taxpayers we should be taking to the streets about this. There is NO excuse.
Yes, I am political. Yes I DO have an agenda, and YES I do think it is time for a change, because what is going on now is simply not working.
I read the first post with great interest, since it seems to me that the Sheriff's Department has an identity crisis.
ReplyDeleteWhy are deputies duplicating services that are already provided by the Maryland State Police? I have no problem with a deputy taking action when he sees a traffic offense, but it seems to me that our cars are haunting Route 2/4, a state road, correct?
I pay state taxes and out of that the State Police gets a cut to keep state controlled roads safe. I pay substantial taxes to Calvert County, and out of that the Sheriff's gets a big cut to keep my neighborhood safe.
As to the chases in which innocent county citizens, even kids, have been hurt and killed over a traffic ticket, that is just beyond unreasonable. The guy who questioned the chases was right on point. There is a time and place for a police chase, but in this day and age, unless it is for a very serious offense, or unless someone is in imminent danger, you just don’t do it. How much money has been lost on lawsuits by victims and their families? I’ll bet the amount would fund more than a few deputy positions.
The poster that discusses getting cars back into neighborhoods had a good point too. Local dollars should pay for local services, including neighborhoods. Can your kids name even one deputy? Mine can’t, and when I grew up, in a big city mind you, I knew the names of all the local police officers, and they were a great deal busier than our rural law enforcement personnel. I respect our deputies, and the rural comment was not meant as an insult, but come on, most of us moved here because it is “the country” for the most part, and the deputies don’t get the volume of calls that officers in Baltimore or D.C. do.
Oh no, I’ve given myself up as a non-native, non-good-old boy. That seems to carry a lot more weight in the County and in the Sheriff’s Department than it ought to, but maybe a change of leadership would remedy that particular issue.
Sure the county is growing, but that does not mean the Sheriff’s Department should grow apart from the folks it gets paid to serve.
Elect Don Brenneman Sheriff, and let’s all move forward to a better way of life. Surprise surprise, there are more than a few people in this county who pay attention and who vote.
Don,
ReplyDeleteDetails, Details, Details. The Devil is in the Details. Everything you say you want to do is of course the way to go, however, I have not been able to locate the details. Although they may be on Facebook, which I don't subscribe to. How do you propose to accomplish your Goals. A number of politicians seem to get caught up in this point. Saying what you expect to accomplish and actually having the money, manpower and support within the department and county political machines may inhibit your ability to do so. I'm sure the current Sheriff is not sitting on his laurels, but may just not have the ability to change what needs to change. I don't know if the Sheriff's Department has a Union, but I find this is usually a huge stumbling block to get change in the right direction for the community/people at large.
Thank you for your attention and for at least getting the community to think about the issues. Hopefully, with enough people on board with your goals and commitment to the community, we can get change for the better of the residents of the county.
Go to some of Don's public appearances and ask him what the "details" are. And here's a newsflash, you don't have to subscribe to facebook as you mentioned, it's not a magazine.
ReplyDeleteMr. Brenneman,
ReplyDeleteI live in Chesapeake Beach with my wife and step daughter. First, thank you for the Facebook add. Second, I saw you at the forum in Prince Frederick as I was going inside, but did not get a chance to talk to you as the forum was beginning. (You were outside speaking to a lady about your campaign; I was the heavy-set guy with a goutee and very short hair wearing a sleeve-less black shirt who hurried by towards the building.)
I am not a Republican or a Democrat (I'm registered Libertarian) and am deciding who to vote for in the upcoming election for Calvert County sheriff.
Generally, I am conservative on fiscal issues and liberal on social issues.
I do not support drug abuse, but I do oppose the "war on drugs" because I think it has been counter-productive and wasteful.
I value security and safety, but I am not willing to sacrifice my liberty to obtain it.
I oppose government forfeiture of property before cases have gone to trial. I also generally oppose government forfeiture of property in criminal matters that have gone to trial, unless the property was stolen or obtained with criminal proceeds.
Anyway, could you advise where you stand on any or all of these issues?