Thursday, May 16, 2013
The city is focusing on preventing pedestrian accidents on Rhode Island Avenue and Route 1.
Residents of College Park may soon feel safer crossing the street, as new measures are in the works to improve pedestrian safety on two of the city’s busiest roads. The City of College Park and the Prince George’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation are currently aiming to increase safety on Rhode Island Avenue in North College Park, where traffic does not always yield to pedestrians wishing to cross the street. The county will install rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs) at various points along Rhode Island Avenue this summer. City councilman Patrick L. Wojahn says RRFBs have proven to be effective in causing drivers to yield to pedestrians. Councilman Fazlul Kabir believes crosswalks and walk signals are …
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
The ban is expected to pass the Maryland General Assembly.
Drivers in Maryland still using hand-held mobile devices on the road should be prepared to either make the move to hands free or simply keep their cell phones put away. The Maryland Senate voted 40-6 Monday to approve a bill that makes the use of hand-held electronic devices while behind the wheel a "primary offense," The Baltimore Sun reports. Currently, drivers in Maryland can only be cited for using a cell phone if an officer pulls them over for committing another offense — such as speeding. If the proposed ban is approved—which, according to reports, is likely—drivers could be pulled over for using their mobile phones without committing another offense. "A dozen states and the District of Columbia have laws banning use of hand-held …
Thursday, October 18, 2012
The award was among $6.3 million given to Maryland's state and local governments by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Prince George's County has been awarded $432,311 in federal funding earmarked for violent crime reduction and other public safety activities, Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin announced Thursday. The U.S. Department of Justice grant is one in a $6.3 million bundle given to the state, county, and local governments of Maryland. The county's share will be used on crime prevention, community corrections, and technological improvements in four of its five public safety agencies. At the community level, Laurel was awarded $11,933 for electronic control devices and associated equipment for officers; Hyattsville, $11,143 for equipment and accessories; and Greenbelt, $15,442 for ruggedized mobile data computers. The grant funding is based on a …
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
A Johns Hopkins analysis finds that Riverdale Park Police may need 11 new sworn personnel and 6 more civilian employees.
The anticipated population burst from the Cafritz project could require Riverdale Park to hire 17 new public safety employees, according to an assessment from Johns Hopkins University. The study, presented at Monday night's council worksession, looked at how the 3,000-odd residents expected to accompany the 36-acre mixed-use development would affect police staffing levels. Currently, the RPPD serves a population of about 6,956. When the site is fully built out, Riverdale Park could expect to see a 29 percent increase in crimes and 43 percent increase in service calls, researchers concluded. Administrative duties, code enforcement tasks, paperwork, and communications traffic are also expected to balloon. To meet that demand, the study found…
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Police say shots rang out after a fight outside the McDonald's on Baltimore Avenue.
Updated, 8:50 p.m. Aug. 4: Two men are under arrest after Prince George’s County police say shots were fired as police tried to break up a fight early Saturday morning in a McDonald’s parking lot near the University of Maryland, College Park. Melvyn Douglass Watson, Jr., 18, of the 6100 block of Greenbelt Road, in Greenbelt, and Dikimbe Rasheed David-Brandon, 20, of the 5500 block of Volta Avenue, in Bladensburg will be charged with possession of a handgun and reckless endangerment, county police said in a news release. Police responded to a report of a fight in the 8200 block of Baltimore Avenue about 12:50 a.m., according to the release. Officers found about 200 people in the parking lot of the McDonald’s at 8301 Baltimore Ave., the …
Friday, July 6, 2012
Police said the suspect was shot and transported to a local hospital.
Prince George's County police are investigating a shooting that started in the 4700 block of Lakeland Road in College Park Thursday night and ended in a massive police convergence at the McDonald's at 8301 Baltimore Avenue. Police responded to a call of an armed subject on Lakeland Road around 10:30 p.m., PGPD Spokesman Cpl. Clinton Copeland told Patch. Police approached the suspect; a struggle ensued between the officers and the suspect and shots were fired. Although Copeland said it was too early to confirm the details, the suspect eluded police custody, a chase began and everyone ended up a few blocks away at McDonald's near the University of Maryland campus. "The campus was never on lockdown," Copeland reported, contradicting reports …
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Almost two-thirds of annual fireworks-related injuries happen in the 30 days centered on the 4th of July, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Fireworks are a traditional part of 4th of July festivities—but can also be dangerous. Area firefighters have warned of the dangers of consumer fireworks and in Montgomery and Prince George's counties, consumer fireworks are illegal. A recently released study from the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission revealed that last year, 65 percent of all fireworks-related injuries in the U.S. occurred in the 30-day period centered on the 4th of July. About 46 percent of those injuries involved the hands, and 34 percent affected the head, face or eyes, the agency reported. Injuries to the eyes are particularly serious. According to Dr. Michael P. Grant, director of Oculoplastic Surgery and of the Eye and Orbital Trauma Center at Johns Hopkins…
Saturday, June 30, 2012
A Montgomery County resident was killed in the severe storm, authorities say.
A 71-year-old Montgomery County woman was found dead Saturday, the apparent victim of a tree that fell through the roof of her house and onto her bed during a severe storm. Montgomery County Police were investigating the discovery by Fire and Rescue workers who responded to a call for a tree downed on a home in Silver Spring. Rescue workers had to force themselves into a locked home on the 10000 block of Grant Avenue. Once inside, they discovered the woman's body, unresponsive, in a bedroom on the second floor of the house, according to police. Authorities said she was apparently killed by a large Maple tree falling through the roof of the building and onto her bed sometime during the night. Police will release more information on the …
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Police are searching for suspects involved in the robbery.
A University of Maryland student was injured Friday when their home was robbed. According to The Washington Post, the student was struck in the head by the suspect or suspects. The robbery occurred around 12:45 p.m. in the 8400 block of 48th Avenue, according to the Post, when the student was sleeping and someone kicked open the front door. The suspects took some property and the student was sent to the hospital, the Post reported. Police are still investigating the robbery. Read the full story on The Washington Post.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Lakeland residents can meet and walk with a community liaison of the Prince George's County Police Department.
- POLICE & FIRE
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Thursday, June 14, 2012
Residents of Lakeland will have the opportunity to discuss public safety in their neighborhood with Officer J. Black, the Prince George's County Police Department's community liaison for south College Park. Meet Thursday evening, at College Park Community Center, for a walk and talk. "This is an excellent opportunity for residents of the community to meet each other and to discuss public safety matters, crime statistics and other concerns with the police," according to the announcement. Do you have an event to add to the Patch calendar? Go here and click "Add an Event."
Laura
6:00 pm on Monday, September 3, 2012
And where are the kids going to school? University Park Elementary School is already over-capacity and using trailers. The Cafritz family's throwing money at the problem won't help if there isn't a building to teach them in. Ill-conceived plan; using Whole Foods to seduce Riverdale Park into supporting a non-viable option. What possible grade can the MD State Highway Administration give the E-W … more ›