Is it just me or are things around here getting out of hand? A hate crime, a rape, multiple sexual assaults and a gun-point carjacking all in less than two weeks – so are things getting out of hand? Maybe, just a little bit. I was inundated Tuesday night with e-mails warning us about the carjacking, one emergency alert after the other and then a crime alert from the University Police. In total, I had seven e-mails in my inbox about the incident within minutes.
Kudos to the University Police for being on top of making sure students get instant alerts about campus-related crime.
Unfortunately, no brownie points to the College Park City Council for continuing to stall on making a decision on area policing. It’s been two years since College Park residents voted in favor of paying more for increased police presence and a safer College Park.
According to a Diamondback story following that vote, Mayor Stephen Brayman said he was “ecstatic” that the referendum passed, and councilwoman Karen Hampton said the vote gave the council “marching orders to explore city-wide policing options.”
Councilman Jack Perry called voters “stupid” for voting for the referendum, but it’s OK, because he’s only one vote on the council.
That was some promising rhetoric.
The reality is, the council has dragged its feet on making a decision, and I think it’s time we demand more. It’s time the university demanded more. We’re an economic powerhouse in Prince George’s County, and, without us, there would be no College Park. Take a look at some of the local, regional and national press we’re getting, and you would think College Park is the most unsafe place on the East Coast. How is that reputation going to attract more students?
Crime reports from this semester should provide plenty of ammo for student leaders and university officials to bug College Park – and even Prince George’s County – to step up to the plate. And with city elections just around the corner, it is an ideal time to get more than lip service from the mayor and City Council. Two years of deliberations and an expensive, prolonged study on crime should be enough to come to a consensus on a long-term solution.
It’s unfortunate that most races are uncontested and that students don’t always vote in large chunks, but it’s not unrealistic to get every candidate to take a position one way or the other on every possible solution that’s on the table and to expect the sitting council to take action before the November election. This is the same council that’s was given a mandate by voters to do something about crime and quite frankly, it hasn’t done anything yet.
I live in downtown College Park, and the only non-University Police presence I see every night is across from Route 1 bars. What message does it send to would-be criminals when you don’t see police patrolling neighborhoods (and by neighborhoods I mean every single neighborhood, not just streets with families)?
So here’s my challenge to the city: Make a decision by the November election or risk being called the “do-nothing council.” You put a referendum on the ballot to get voter feedback, and you got that feedback. You were also reelected.
Jahantab Siddiqui is a senior government and politics and marketing major. He can be reached at jahantab@umd.edu.
