[RP TownTalk] TownTalk Digest, Sexual Assaults

[Vernon Archer]

Hi Alison and all interested readers,

First, I'm glad you wrote about your concerns and questions.  I've
collected information from our police handling of the assaults and will try
to answer you.

We now know there were three incidents, but none of our police knew that
there were *multiple *incidents until the second one was reported in
Riverdale Park Monday morning (June 8th).  The incident that had occurred
on the 4th, the victim informed the police what happened but refused to
give a report, so there was very little to go on until a full report was
gotten on the 8th.

Also, for purposes of clarity, these incident are all "4th Degree Sexual
Assaults" described as unwanted touching. While all crimes are serious
these incidents are misdemeanors and not felonies. These assaults were not
rapes.

It was late in the day on the 8th before senior police compared the days
report with what was coming in from Hyattsville. The next morning (9th) a
coordinated patrol and plain clothes watch was put in place with
Hyattsville and RP police working in tandem to prevent another incident and
hopefully apprehend the culprit.

Also, the morning and mid-day of the 9th, police created fliers and
distribute them in the area, posted to their facebook page and posted to
Town Talk and Town Announce.

As I review the information, it took the police 24 hours from the first
call of an assault until a concerted plan to work with our neighboring
department in Hyattsville to preventatively patrol, seek the assailant, and
notify the public was put into place.

The police are always reviewing and seeking ways to more effectively do
their jobs, and this series of incidents will be no different. That being
said, 24 hours from first completed police report to full implementation of
a strategy to  protect the public, apprehend the suspect and inform the
public of a series of misdemeanor assaults is pretty good in my opinion.

Lastly, when incidents that require public notice occur in the middle or
eastern sections of town, they are done in both English and Spanish.

Best wishes,

Vern

On Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 9:22 AM, Alison Spain <alisonspain at gmail.com> wrote:

> Is there a way to receive incident reports about assaults like this, and
> certainly MULTIPLE assaults, sooner?
>
> The first incident was over two weeks ago, and the second last Friday.  I
> run, walk, and bike the trail, with and without my kid, and I have seen no
> flyers on the trail.  I have seen no announcements in Towntalk nor on
> multiple local list serves.  It is entirely possible I missed the
> announcement, but I have also heard no mention of the assaults from any
> local women, which makes me think there has not been sufficient publicity.
>
> Given the tight proximity of the Riverdale, Hyattsville, Brentwood, etc.,
>  I am curious what protocol is in place for the town authorities to
> communicate this kind of information to one another and to their
> residents?  If someone is not on the local list serve or internet savvy
> with crime reports, how would they know?  Riverdale has many Latina
> residents, presumably some whose primary language is Spanish.  How will
> they receive the information in a timely manner in order to stay safe?
>
> I am genuinely curious about how this kind of information can get to our
> community faster. Thank you.
>
> Alison Spain
> Tuckerman St.
>
>
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-- 
Vernon Archer, Mayor
Town of Riverdale Park, Maryland
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