Bethesda Crime Update: Calls For Suspicious Behavior Helping

Montgomery County Police Bethesda District commander Capt. Dave Falcinelli yesterday said citizens calling in suspicious behavior in neighborhoods led to four recent arrests of suspects in theft and burglary cases.

One of those arrests came Jan. 18 in the Ashburton neighborhood, off Old Georgetown Road.

Those so-called “nuisance crimes,” theft from autos and residential burglaries that are common in upscale Bethesda neighborhoods, will continue to be the primary challenge for Bethesda police and detectives in the upcoming year, Falcinelli said.

Despite continuing reports of thefts from autos in neighborhoods across the 2nd District, the number of incidents actually declined by 23 percent (1,175 to 902) in 2012 compared to 2011, Falcinelli said. But he also said he expects those numbers to rise this year with the inclusion of Potomac and parts of the Randolph Hills neighborhood in the new 2nd District.

Falcinelli said redistricting has gone smoothly since it went into effect Feb. 4.

When asked about enforcing laws against illegally parked cars on busy Wisconsin Avenue, Falcinelli told the Western Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board his District doesn’t have the manpower to make sweeps of the area. He said his traffic sergeant recently went to businesses along the stretch with letters warning them to stop allowing delivery truck drivers and others to park in the far right lane.

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