Police were more visible at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda this past weekend, following a string of robberies at the popular retail center. In one instance, as seen above in the Dining Terrace food court, a uniformed police officer joined a mall security guard making the rounds of the property. Montgomery County police recently responded to three robberies in a nine-day period at the mall, on January 26 and 27, and on February 4. In the January 27 robbery, the victim was a business inside the mall.
Last year, assaults - not robberies - were the primary type of violent crime taking place at the mall. Eleven assaults were reported at the mall in 2024, up from five in 2023. The last assault was on November 12, 2024. A new leadership team was brought into the mall by parent company Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield ten days later. No assaults have been reported at Montgomery Mall so far in 2025.
There's no question that a visible police presence can not only deter criminals, but also make mall patrons feel safer. A sense of lawlessness, such as thieves being permitted to escape with large armfuls or bags of merchandise, only attracts more serious criminals as word spreads of easy pickings. TV news reports of New York City Police Department officers on subway platforms and trains, as that city's mayor announced that at least two officers would patrol each train during overnight hours, would give passengers a high degree of confidence in riding the MTA system.
The newly-deployed NYPD officers are in addition to the existing ones patrolling MTA stations and platforms. Meanwhile, back in Maryland, the Montgomery County Council has defunded the police since 2020. Heckuva job, Brownie!
Weird - the actual data says police budget in Moco has increased since 2020
ReplyDeleteThe Montgomery County Council's police budget has increased since 2020. Here are some of the police budget amounts for recent fiscal years:
FY20
The adopted operating budget was $160.94 million, which was a 0.9% increase from the previous year
FY23
The approved operating budget was $296,501,578
FY24
The approved operating budget was $312,520,754, which was a 5.4% increase from the previous year
FY25
The recommended operating budget is $329,427,148, which is a 5.41% increase from the previous year
Wrong. The budget always appears to go up, but it's not actually paying for more police on the street. The increases are for administrative costs and salary and benefits increases for existing officers. And funding an increase that is insufficient - such as FY-24, when the Council staff had called for a 7% increase and got only 5.4% - is actually defunding.
DeleteAs of 2024, there were
* 194 fewer officers since the Council began defunding the police in 2020
* 179 vacant officer positions
* 137 admin staff vacancies
* 64 911 call center vacancies
* 17% increase in police response time due to understaffing
* and the County Council eliminated the entire personnel of the central auto theft section
Heckuva job, Brownie!
Thank you for the clarification on this Mr.Dyer.
Delete"There's no question that a visible police presence can not only deter criminals, but also make mall patrons feel safer."
ReplyDeleteNot if you get caught in the crossfire.
Yeah I can see now shoot outs at Montgomery Mall give me a break
ReplyDeleteIt could easily happen, before Lakeforest closed there were multiple stabbings with at least one fatality, and there was also a shooting in the Lakeforest parking lot which was also a fatality. If things continue at Montgomery Mall like they have been, don't be surprised
DeleteTalk about obtuse...my goodness.
DeleteOh Lakeforest pain is coming down. . .
DeleteAnyone commenting in a positive light on this County's political leadership needs to read MoCo Perspective. There has to be some prevailing legal mechanism to disintegrate the Council and allow the state to run matters. Its really a nest of liberal idiots and their policy decisions are seen and amplified every passing week with the deteriorating quality of life here. It happened in DC in the early 1990s and maybe it can repeat itself here!
ReplyDeleteWasn't Sydney Katz the mayor of Gaithersburg like 40 years ago? These people never leave, it's like lifetime appointments.
DeleteThey are permanent fixtures in a 'round robin' ruling model.
DeleteBased on the MGA track record, it would be akin to jumping from the frying pan into the fire. . .
ReplyDeleteDoes this mean that the food lines will be longer now?
ReplyDelete