I have lived in (North) College Park since 1998 and since that time, I've grown tired of hearing reports of street crime like the following incident detailed in a recent press release from the Prince George's County Police Department:

"On December 2, 2010 at approximately 11:22 p.m. patrol officers responded to the 5000 block of Branchville Road for a call of a citizen armed robbery. When they arrived, the victim stated he was walking home when the suspects approached him from behind. One of the suspects displayed a handgun and announced a robbery. The suspects then instructed the victim to remove all his property. Fearing for his life the victim complied. The suspects took the victim's property and fled the area.

"The suspects are described as Hispanic males, 5'10" in height, 160 pounds, and approximately 18-20 years of age. One of the suspects was armed with a silver handgun."*

But wait, it gets worse. About 11 minutes later, a second robbery took place in the vicinity of 48^th Avenue and Indian Lane, presumably perpetrated by the same suspects.

I don't know about you, but whenever I hear about incidents like this, I can't help but wonder: am I insane for raising a family here? 

Now before I go any further, I want to be clear that my intent here is not to blame anyone or anything for the crime in our community. Crime is an unfortunate fact of life in (sub)urban locales, such as the Greater Washington D.C. area, and no amount of police on the beat or crime fighting technology is going to stop it. Further, I'm not trying to whip up any sort of crime hysteria by bringing people's attention to crimes like the two I mentioned above. In fact, as has been noted by several different sources, statistics show that crime in College Park and in Prince George's County is down.

Yet, even though I know that crime is down, reports that people are being attacked or robbed as they walk home from the Greenbelt Metro or walk along Route 1 or the Trolley Trail are hard to forget, as are the (usually worse) crimes I hear about from neighbors. Whether these latter offenses have actually taken place or were reported is anyone's guess—people love a good story—but, real or imagined, all the talk about crime can take a psychic toll on a person. Thus, like some of my fellow College Park residents, I no longer feel safe in my neighborhood, and that insecurity has led to changes in my behavior. I now think twice about taking my dog for walks in the evenings and, when I do go out, I make sure to leave my wallet at home.

I don't want to live like this, nor do I want my girls to grow up being scared of what could happen to them in their own neighborhood. But I'm not moving. I do want to raise my family here. College Park, while it has its problems, is a great community filled with great people. That said, I wonder: what can we—the citizens of College Park—do to keep such crimes at a minimum. Again, this is not an indictment of our police. They do a great job with the resources they have, but they can't be everywhere in College Park.

We—the residents of College Park—can. That's why, I think it's time we consider the idea of citizen patrols**, a fancy term for getting neighbors to come together, outside of their homes, for the sole purpose of keeping an eye on the neighborhoods in which they live. Ridiculous? Dangerous? Too pie-in-the-sky? Maybe, but it's been shown to be effective. Detroit, a city that's had more than its share of challenges, has used this tactic effectively. If they can do it, so can we.

The aim, of course, is NOT to create roving bands of reckless vigilantes or something like the Guardian Angels. What I'm suggesting is far more mundane—small groups of residents (armed with nothing more than cell phones) walking around their neighborhoods. Thus, in the same way that surveillance cameras send the message to would-be criminals that they are being watched, citizen patrols in or around our crime hotspots, during the hours crimes often occur, could send the same message—and notify police immediately if an incident took place.

What's more, citizen patrols could have other benefits, too. They're cheaper than cameras (and much cheaper than the city police force no one wants to pay for), they could foster a greater sense of community and camaraderie among neighbors, and they could even provide folks with a little exercise.

Smith is resident of North College Park and treasurer of the North College Park Citizen's Association.

* Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Prince George's County Police Department's District Investigative Unit at (301) 699-2601. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411 TIPS (8477) or text "PGPD plus your message" to CRIMES (274637) on your cell phone or go to http://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/police/ and submit a tip online.

** Could citizen patrols be part of an expanded Neighborhood Watch (NW) program? Of course, but since NW currently isn't functioning, I decided not to mention it here.