As I’m sure you’re aware, and as much as it pains me to say it, crime in on the increase in College Park. According to District 1 police:

• There were two commercial robberies: the College Park Diner was robbed around 9:00 pm on February 21 and the Days Inn on the 9100 block of Route 1 was robbed around 11:45 pm on February 22

• There were a slew of “breaking-and-enterings” in North College Park

• There were 12 citizen robberies in the Hyattsville area

• Fifteen cars were vandalized in one day in a spate of vandalism incidents in Old Town

• There was an armed robbery at the Bamboo Eater

• And on personal note, some out of town guests had the rear, driver-side window of their car smashed in what was either an attempted robbery or pointless vandalism.

Naturally, when crime increases, city residents look to the police to see what officers are doing in response and to learn what they can do to better protect themselves against would be thieves and vandals.

According to the meeting minutes of the recent District I Coffee Club that took place on February 23, one of College Park’s officers

“… shared his experience with ‘Operation Look Out,’ a program that encourages people to look out their windows at home more often. The officer noted that, after he moved onto a street in a high-crime neighborhood, he noticed that, where residents looked out their windows often there was comparatively much less crime.”

I know: on the face of it, this seems…difficult to believe. I mean, was there a study that verified this conclusion or is the officer’s claim based little more than anecdotal evidence?

Then again, it stands to reason that having more eyeballs on the street may prompt would-be criminals to think twice before breaking the law. After all, people tempted to steal or vandalize are more apt to act if they think no one’s looking (or that no one cares). Besides, isn’t this the idea behind Neighborhood Watch? The sign in my neighborhood warning scofflaws that “this is a “Neighborhood Watch community” suggests it is (although based on recent crime statistics, the sign may be losing its effectiveness). 

As unnerving as this recent spike in crime may be, what’s more troubling is that (as I’ve often heard) crime tends to increase as the weather gets warmer. Well, with temperatures on the rise and spring right around the corner, it might be a good idea for people to take this looking out the window business a step further and actually hang out outside. According to Stan Cox, author of the article, “In the Heat Wave, the Case Against Air Conditioning,” getting out of the house can make communities safer.

“Saying goodbye to [air conditioning] means saying hello to the world. With more people spending more time outdoors—particularly in the late afternoon and evening, when temperatures fall more quickly outside than they do inside—neighborhoods see a boom in spontaneous summertime socializing.

“Rather than cowering alone in chilly home-entertainment rooms, neighbors get to know one another. Because there are more people outside, streets in high-crime areas become safer.”

Admittedly, it may still be a bit too chilly for people to spend time chatting with neighbors on front porches, so for the time being, let’s see if we can’t decrease College Park’s crime stats by looking out our windows—and when the weather gets warmer, by going outside.

Smith is a resident of North College Park and treasurer of the North College Park Citizens Association. He also blogs at www.ncpinformant.com.