Prince George’s County police and the U.S. Marine Corps distributed more than 50,000 toys to the county’s needy children as part of the Toys for Tots program.
“This has been a resounding success for everyone,” Police Chief Roberto Hylton said, “and we could not be happier to give so much. The Toys for Tots drive exemplifies the spirit of community policing; it is a partnership that brings us together for everyone’s benefit.”
Prince George’s police credit their community policing model, which focuses on developing close ties between beat officers and the residents who live on the streets they patrol, with the lowering of the number of homicides this year to levels not seen since the late 1990s.
The Toys for Tots program is run by the Marines. Starting in October, the Marines work with local agencies to collect new, unwrapped toys. They then distribute the toys to needy children in the communities where they were collected.
Last year, four D.C. police officers tarnished the program’s image locally when they were caught on tape stealing toys from the Benning Road Boys and Girls Club just two days before Christmas.
But Prince George’s has seen no such problems in the three years the police department has been working with the Marines to distribute the toys in the county, police said. The toys were distributed early last week to thousands of parents at the Police Services Complex. Police said it took 14 hours to distribute all the gifts.
