Turning the corner on crime

IN THE SUMMER of 2005, when Prince George's County was beset by a wave of homicides, Police Chief Melvin C. High threw a sort of public temper tantrum in which he derided the officers on his force as lazy. Less than a year later, when the murder rate had dipped somewhat, he lauded the leadership of "the great men and women of this department" for the improved performance -- and credited his own strategy of flooding crime hot spots with police officers.

Mr. High has since retired, but his bipolar analysis helps illustrate the truism that there's a degree of guesswork involved in explaining why crime rates dip anywhere. Since then, crime in Prince George's generally, and the number of murders in particular, have continued to slip, more or less in line with a national trend. Current chief Roberto L. Hylton, in the job a little more than a year, recently applauded the drop, citing what he called his efforts to hold officers accountable for their work.

Whatever broader trends may be at work, it's worth noting that compared with five years ago, when an epidemic of violence in Prince George's included a homicide almost every other day, the county has a lot more police officers on the beat today. The force is up to about 1,550 officers; it had just 1,350 in 2006. And while that is still hundreds too few for a sprawling, partly urbanized jurisdiction of more than 800,000 people, it's a major improvement. It means, among other things, that homicide detectives (whose numbers are also up) are handling more manageable caseloads. And it has helped the county's efforts to gather intelligence on and track specific gangs, venues and criminals.

Credit for the beefed-up ranks of officers belongs partly to County Executive Jack B. Johnson, who has mostly fulfilled his pledge to boost police recruitment. The department now has hundreds of eager and aggressive young officers in their 20s and 30s. Chief Hylton is also praised within the department for bringing a steadier hand and crisper administrative approach to an agency that badly needed both.

We don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but there are a couple of caveats to all this happy news. One is that the department will need to work hard to maintain and continue building on staffing levels, as some 250 officers with 20 years on the job are eligible for retirement by this summer. And despite a homicide rate that's fallen by a third from its peak in 2005, the county still suffered 100 murders last year. True, that was the lowest number since 2000 (and crime overall was the lowest in 34 years). But it represents a rate of about 12.2 murders per 100,000 residents, which is 50 percent higher than Maryland's overall murder rate, which itself is the second-highest among the states. Moreover, the county must redouble its efforts to build programs that prevent crime through community outreach programs that reach at-risk children as young as preschoolers, in line with recommendations by Glenn F. Ivey, the county's top prosecutor.

So there have been laudable gains. But, with Prince George's remaining among the most crime-ridden counties in the nation, there's still plenty of work to be done.