Steep Drop in Crime Is Reported

"It's too soon for me to feel any safer," said Cheverly resident Oliver Smith, whose son, a county police officer, was killed in the line of duty in 1997.

High-profile crimes such as the fatal shooting of an 18-month-old child in a car seat in the fall and the Christmas Eve beating of a parishioner outside his church in College Park have also reinforced the sense of vulnerability.

"I don't know what to make of it," Forestville resident Pat Johnson, a member of another of the citizen advisory councils, said of the crime reductions. Johnson said she was convinced that the county would backslide on crime as the economy worsens.

From 2007 to 2008, homicides declined a little more than 6 percent in Prince George's, contributing to the 21 percent decline since 2005. Over the same three-year period in the District, homicides dropped 4 percent, from 194 to 186.

Last year, the county recorded an 8.9 percent drop in violent crime from 2007 and a 3.9 percent decline in overall crime.

Acting Police Chief Roberto L. Hylton, whom Johnson has credited with invigorating the department in recent months, said last year's figures showed that the county's approach is working. Still, he pointed out areas of concern: Burglaries were up 10 percent in 2008 from 2007. Commercial and residential robberies were up 7 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

Hylton said he is employing new technology to further curb violence in the coming year. He now gets crime updates every 15 minutes based on 911 calls.

"We pay attention every day," he said. "Crime is evaluated every 15 minutes, and we adjust our resources and our plan accordingly. Because of our rapid reaction, we have and will continue to manage the crime rate."

Police did not break down the 2008 crime numbers geographically.