Councilmember Natali Fani-González and Police Captain Smith hold Public Safety Debrief

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, May 24, 2023

From the Office of Councilmember Natali Fani-González

Click to view the full video statement.

ROCKVILLE, Md.—Everyone in our County, no matter where they live, deserves to feel safe in their neighborhood, whether they are walking the dog, taking the metro home, pumping gas or shopping in our local businesses. However, communities across our region and across the country—urban, suburban and rural—are facing serious public safety challenges, including an epidemic of gun violence.  

Just in the past couple months, residents have been shaken by several incidents of violent crime, from the fatal shooting at the Wheaton Metro last week and the stabbing on University Blvd. in April to the shooting and carjackings at Wheaton Mall in March.  I share their anger at the senseless violence but also their determination to find workable solutions. 

We must work collaboratively, across government agencies and community organizations, to ensure we protect residents from crime. This includes holding people who commit crime accountable and doing all we can to prevent crime from happening in the first place.  

Last week, I joined my colleagues on the County Council to take a preliminary vote on the FY24 Operating Budget, which will provide over $313 million to the Police Department, representing a 5.4% increase year over year. The budget fully funds negotiated contracts with our police officers and first responders. Nevertheless, our main challenge continues to be short staffing. To that end, we worked closely with the Council and the County Executive to provide an additional incentive, a $20,000 bonus, to hire new police officers, a measure that is already creating an upward trend in hiring. 

We also added over $250,000 to fund a new security camera rebate program and provided an additional $100,000 for nonprofit security grants for organizations and facilities at high-risk of hate crimes.

On May 15^th, I joined the majority of my colleagues on the Council to pass Bill 14-23, the Late-Night Safety Plan, where we ask businesses to do their part in creating a space that is safe for everyone.

But we also need to do more with our existing public safety resources.  That is why I have requested our police leadership to provide more patrols on bike and on foot to areas with higher crime rates. In addition to more patrols, we need to build meaningful relationships with the communities we serve. Since I began my term in December, I’ve joined Commander David Smith in regular meetings with business leaders, community members and other county agencies to collaboratively identify practical public safety solutions so that everyone feels safe in their homes, their place of work and their neighborhood.

In March 2023, I met with the Montgomery County State's Attorney, John McCarthy, and asked him for more action and coordination in our combat against crime in hot areas of the County.   

We must fight crime together; we must listen to our residents in their neighborhoods, and we must coordinate the work of each County agency in our common goal to keep our communities safe.

It takes all of us working together to keep our community safe. We will continue listening and working with our residents to ensure we keep communities safe and offer our youth opportunities to succeed.

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Release ID: 23-193
Media Contact: José Ortiz 240-777-7869
Categories: Natali Fani-González