Recently a comment was left on the blog regarding gang activity in Calvert County. We wanted to address the comment specifically. Below you will find the original comment followed by Don's response. As always - thanks for reading and voicing you vision for Calvert County.

Wallace Creations commented:

Hello, 1st I would like to say I enjoyed meeting you at the Josh Turner concert. The fact that you took the time out to actually hold conversation rather than shake hands, pass out a flyer, and keep moving was very impressive. I finally took the time to check out your web site and was further impressed. I am taking you up on your offer of posting any concerns or questions.

The question I have concerns the increasing gang activity in Calvert county. Does the sheriff's department currently have any plans to combat this growing problem? As elected official, would this be a priority or just something you would get around to when you could? Although my kids have grown, I have friends and family members that have been concerned for their sons.

Don's Response:

Gang activity fits in with my concept of community policing, if you know your community, you will know what gangs or crews are operating and where. That is why along with my Sheriff's advisory council, which will be made up of neighborhood association presidents and/or community leaders, I plan to have a Sheriff's youth council, made up of youth representatives from each area high school. I will meet with Sheriff's advisory council and the youth group on a monthly basis to help foster community based policing and to help our youth recognize the importance of community involvement. As adults, we sometimes neglect to involve our youth in the solutions which is very helpful in the long term verses "just putting out fires." Gang activity is a problem for everybody in the community and it will take a community effort to solve it. By utilizing the youth council and the Sheriff's advisory council I will reach out to the gangs and crews and find alternatives by way of activities. I will also utilize the total effort of the Sheriff' office to eliminate gang activity. Gangs that are allowed to operate for periods of time wreak havoc on neighborhoods and force people to live in fear, and I will not tolerate that for one minute.

An important element in recognizing gang activity and eliminating it is through graffiti identification. Once graffiti is observed, it has to be photographed and removed as soon as possible. There are programs in neighboring jurisdictions that I will utilize, where once the graffiti is photographed, public works responds with a power washer and other materials to eliminate the graffiti. This keeps the gang from establishing itself by marking their territory. The photograph is then turned over to the investigative unit to be analyzed. This is where an intelligence unit is helpful, and under my administration the intelligence will be collected and analyzed so each and every gang member is known.

Thank you for your post, gang activity is very important to me. During my tenure with the Maryland State Police, I held positions as a criminal investigator and was assigned to narcotics enforcement. In those two positions I was able to gain invaluable experience that will enable me to recognize,manage, and eliminate any gang activity in Calvert County. Our children are our most precious resource, and gang activity sucks the life from our communities and our young.

A Question of Uniforms

A recent comment was left on the blog regarding the current state of the CC Sheriff's Office uniforms. We have re-posted the comment into the body of this blog and we have also posted Don's view on the uniform policy. You can read Don's response following the anonymous comment.

Anonymous said...

Is there some sort of military operation or operation taking place in Calvert of which we the residents are unaware?

Every place I go recently I see olive-drab clad, military looking personnel who used to be Sheriff’s Deputies. While we are exporting thousands of trained law enforcement personnel to Iraq to train them to police our way, some misguided soles that apparently think the county is a war zone are creating “Fortress-Calvert.”

Come on, this is just getting silly. Sure we need folks trained and prepared for special emergency situations, but those are few and far between and account for an insignificant percentage of the calls run by deputies in our county.

I went into a restaurant the other day and I thought I was back in Saigon, olive drab uniforms as far as the eye could see, and what were my tax dollars doing be used to fund a platoon sized luncheon for the Sheriff’s Department anyway?

Come on folks, lets get back to reality here; this not an urban war zone, and when was the last time a SWAT team was needed for…..well anything?

I’d love to know how much money Sheriff Evans is squandering on this apparent uniform change; of course in the big scheme of things, that would be a drop in the bucket when it comes to fiscal irresponsibility in the current administration.

I’d demand an answer, but I’m sure the answer would be “It is a personnel matter,” or more to the point in their opinion, “None of your business!” Sure, my tax dollars but not my business. We will see about that nonsense come election day.

Don's Response...

One of the things that help a community identify who their police or deputies are is the uniform. I share your concern about the many different uniforms that I see as I travel through the county. I have always taken great pride in wearing a uniform and feel that the uniform, and how one wears it is the first sign of a professional organization worthy of the respect and pride from citizens. I also feel that the uniform helps instill a sense of tradition in an organization that helps foster pride, honor and professionalism. When the Sheriff’s Department is seen wearing a series of different uniforms, it promotes that there may not be any standards or rules and that there is a sense of instability. What we need from the Sheriff’s office is stability and confidence, and I will ensure that the standard uniform issue is resolved quickly, so that the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office can focus their attention on reducing the 18% crime increase in the county. Every single surrounding agency has posted significant reductions in all major crime categories with the exception of Calvert County. It makes me wonder what we are currently focused on, what to wear, or how we protect our citizens and their property.

I hear you!