Even as District Police Chief Charles Ramsey warned that criminals appeared to be leaving their neighborhoods and targeting wealthier areas, Montgomery County police said they are not overly concerned that the crime wave worrying residents a few miles south will cross state lines.
But police in Montgomery County are monitoring the “crime emergency” declared by Ramsey on Tuesday, Montgomery County police spokeswoman Lucille Baur said Thursday.
“Certainly we’re aware of what’s going on in other jurisdictions, but there’s no evidence that would support our changing our policies or taking any additional actions because of what has occurred or is occurring in the District of Columbia,” Baur said. “We are not taking any action of the nature that has been taken by the Metropolitan Police Department.”
Just as Ramsey warned that it appeared that several recent crimes on the National Mall and the murder of a man in Georgetown on Sunday were the work of criminals targeting wealthy areas, instances of criminals coming into Montgomery County from other jurisdictions appear to be increasing.
On Wednesday, police arrested three teenagers from the Northeast and Southeast quadrants of Washington. They were accused of carjacking a Riverdale man at the Westfield Shoppingtown Wheaton Tuesday night.
Robberies in the county increased overall by 10 percent in the first quarter of 2006 over the previous year, according to a report released in June by police. Murders had increased by 33 percent, from three to four.
Of the 685 people arrested in the county in March and April, 86 were from the District, 45 were from Prince George’s County and nine were from Virginia, Baur said. Information from May, June and July was not available.
“We do know that certainly, individuals that commit crimes in one area do not necessarily commit crimes in the areas in which they live,” Baur said.
