[RP TownTalk] Responding to breakins and signs of disorderly behavior

[Alan Thompson and Sarah Wayland]

[snip]

A point that sometimes bears repeating is that if you see *anything* that 
looks odd to you, you should call the police.

Years ago, we had a neighborhood watch program here in Riverdale Park 
(founded and organized by our Mayor, Vernon Archer.) The police chief at 
the time told us that all citizens should think of themselves as the eyes 
and ears of the community. And if they saw anything that looked odd, they 
should let the police know right away.

Example: Cars were driving up my street, parking for 10 minutes, driver 
stayed in car, and then they drove away. All times of day and night, but 
only once a week or so. I thought it was weird, but it didn't look like 
anything illegal to me, so I never said anything. It turns out that this 
is exactly how people get drug deliveries. I didn't know! And I missed a 
valuable opportunity to help our police track a drug problem in our town.

The fact of the matter is that if it feels weird to you, it may well be 
weird. And the police are trained to assess the situation and handle it 
appropriately. They know a lot more than the average citizen does about 
what different behaviors can mean.

Our police can't help us fix our crime problems unless we let them know 
when we see them happening.

Call them at 301-927-4343 *any* time you see something odd going on. 
Whether or not they respond is a decision they can only make if they know 
what is happening.

-Sarah