A new team of seven officers assigned to crime hot spots and a new detective have helped put a dent in crime this summer around Bethesda, according to the 2nd District police commander.
Capt. David Faclinelli, who heads up the County Police department’s 2nd District, said the new District Community Action team arrested three suspects in June either driving stolen cars or attempting to steal a car.
The officers on the 2nd District’s Community Action Team aren’t tied to the traditional system of responding to calls, Falcinelli wrote this week in a safety update for the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center. That means the officers can instead go to areas that have seen recent upticks in crime.
Falcinelli said the officers “provide a visible deterrent to discourage future activity and make arrests if possible.”
The 2nd District, which covers Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac, North Bethesda and parts of Kensington and Silver Spring, also has a new Petty Crimes detective. Falcinelli said police arrested a suspect last week who committed thefts at three area country clubs based on evidence the new detective pieced together.
Falcinelli said there was one robbery in July in the 2nd District, bringing the total for the year to 22 — the same number of robberies at this point of 2013. There were 123 thefts from vehicles in July in the district and Faclinelli said 88 percent of the incidents involved vehicles that were left unlocked. There has been a nearly 8 percent increase in thefts from vehicles in 2014 compared to the first seven months of 2013.
“We have reviewed suspects on video and watched as they try door handles, then move onto the next car when they find it locked,” Falcinelli wrote. “We have talked to suspects after they are arrested and they will tell us that they like to commit this crime here because ‘most people leave their cars unlocked and there is good stuff inside.’”
There were also 19 residental burglaries in July, six of which involved property (mainly bicycles) taken from garages that had been left open.
