AGWG Civic Association

Residential Security

The Montgomery County Police urge residents to report any unlawful incident or suspicious activity to their non-emergency number (301-279-8000), no matter how small, in order to justify additional police patrols in the community. So that AGWG may continue to alert the community to incidents as they occur, also notify your Neighborhood Watch Block Captain or any board member.

May 26 4th District Police Advisory Committee meeting, report from Joel Mazelis: Commander Demme related a recent story where 2 residents noticed a suspicious car in their neighborhood and wrote down the license number and called the police. The police pulled the car over a short distance away. The driver is responsible for over 100 cases of auto vandalism to support a drug habit. It pays to be vigilant. The Commander also noted that many unlocked cars are vandalized outside local gyms in the district.

Commander Demme indicated that budget cuts will not affect safety services this year since duty officers will be complimented by Officers now stationed in the schools, which are likely to be transferred to patrol due to budget cuts. However, next year could present a problem as a number of officers are eligible to retire. A new cadet class is starting this summer and should partially offset this effect.

I asked Commander Demme about criminal activity at Plaza del Mercado. She stated that crime has been minimal as compared to similar areas in the district. But undercover officers are in the area to deter drug sales. She also promised to get all the skateboarders out. Lately, the police have been concentrating their efforts in the plaza along Georgia Ave, where the Outback Steakhouse is located, as a result of increased criminal activity.

See Crime Watch for details on the latest incidents.

Neighborhood Watch has moved to a dedicated page.

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Crime Watch

Montgomery County Police 4th District: 240-773-5500

• July 27, 2010:
  A residence on Drury Road was broken into around 9:30am. The house was entered through the back. A neighbor observed a strange SUV parked at Drury and Campfire Court, got the tag number, and called 911 to report a crime in progress. Kudos to the neighbor, who said he was only doing what his block captain had asked.
  
  
• Week of June 27, 2010:
  A residence on Merrifields Drive was entered through an unlocked first floor window, according to a neighbor who was watching the house while the family was on vacation.  The neighbor does not think anything was taken and no police report was filed by the homeowner, although the Block Captain filed a police report.
  
  
• June 21, 2010 Crime Alert:
  The community has been hit by several incidents of car vandalism. Many of the cars were unlocked, some in open garages; whereas, some had their windows smashed. The Association contacted Commander Demme’s Lieutenant in charge of our area, who put in a request for additional patrols after midnight. He again urged residents to lock their cars and remove valuables. He said in many cases, the perpetrators will take garage openers to allow them to enter the home at a later date. The Twinbrook Valley and Longmead Crossing communities have also been victimized. Lt. Stone said they have a suspect in mind that has been spotted twice in the neighborhood pretending to hand out flyers. Be on the lookout for a tall, white, male driving a 1980s truck that is purple and white. Please call 911, if spotted.
  
  
• Week of June 10, 2010:
  On Marymont Road, a mailbox that was removed was later found on the roof of Blake High School.
  
  
• Between June 6 and June 13, 2010:
  -Gayfields: car was entered, and something was taken
  -Flint Hill: car was entered, nothing taken
  -Tierra: two unlocked cars were entered, nothing taken
  -Tierra: truck was entered, nothing taken
  -Drury: two cars were entered, $20 taken
  
  
• In the early morning hours of May 28th, 2010, multiple cars were broken into and items stolen from at least two cars in the immediate area of Campfire Court and Drury. Please remove your valuables from your cars. Our intial information indicates that windows were broken to enter the locked vehicles.
  
  
• May 27th AGWG crime alert: Three vehicles in the community were reported vandalized during the last month. According to the information received by the Association's Neighborhood Watch, at least 2 of these cars were unlocked.
  
  
• Late at night on May 7th, 2010, a car was broken into and searched on Merrifield's Drive near Marymont. In the same week, an unlocked vehicle on Merrifields Drive near Tierra was entered and searched.


• In the early morning hours of December 11th, four vehicles had their windows smashed. The incidents took place on Campfire Court, Coffeewood Court and Drury. Police were contacted and conducted an investigation. No suspects have been identified at this time. The Association requests that all residents be extra vigilant in observing any suspicious activities and report this immediately to the Montgomery County Police. The Association's Neighborhood Watch Team would appreciate being copied (warnerjm@yahoo.com) on any information that is relayed to the police, so we can sure that their investigation is conducted in an efficient and timely manner. All information will be supplied to the Association would be considered strictly confidential.
  
  
• Sometime between September 11 and September 18, 2009: While the residents were away, a burglary occurred in the 15400 block Tierra Drive. Forced entry was gained through the back door, and items were removed from the house. If you recall seeing anything unusual that may relate to this, please provide the best information you can to the County Police (240-773-5500), referencing Case Number 09052527.
  


• Weekend of July 25, 2009: Last weekend a neighbor's window was broken during what was believed to have been an attempted break-in. The resident was injured and needed medical treatment according to information the Association received. The incident took place on Gayfields near the intersection with Layhill. The incident is now under investigation by the County Police. Should you have any additional information, please contact the police directly. (This is one of the areas where a volunteer is still needed as a block captain for the Neighborhood Watch.)

Last month a resident called the police non-emergency number to report a neighbor's car alarm sounding. Unfortunately, the police never responded. The AGWG urges all residents to contact the police regarding any suspicious activity. If you do not receive a response when reporting these activities contact the 4th District Station at 240/773-5500 ask for the DEPOSITION of your call, which will be listed by the phone number you gave the officer who took the initial report. Please ensure that your Block Captain is aware of all incidents reported to the Police; if your are in an area that currently does not have a Block Captain, email Marie Warner, the Chair of the AGWG Neighborhood Watch Committee, or call her at 301/924-2281


• Feb. 18, 2009: Very early Monday morning, a resident on Longmead awoke to find his car's window smashed. Apparently, something that appeared to be valuable was left on the front passenger seat and the vehicle was locked. Remember to remove all items of value from plain view in your vehicle.

The Montgomery County Police have been investigating a series of thefts from cars. The trend appears that several cars are broken into and the perpetrators may steal one of the vehicles. There has also been a number of cases where property has been stolen from vehicles parked in open garages. In some instances, garage door openers stolen from vehicles parked on the street are later used to burglarize the house. Although our community has been the target of many thefts from auto and some recent cases were forced entry, we have no information has to whether this series of crimes mentioned above specifically includes our community although similarities can be found.

• Nov. 20, 2008: Two additional incidents were reported to the AGWG. Again, they both occurred over election day. An SUV on Baughman Court was entered and some of the contents were found in the surrounding shrubbery. A golf cart was stolen from a residence on Gayfields. According to the owner, the cart was not operable and was apparently pushed from the yard and loaded onto another vehicle.

  Again, all incidents should be reported to the police and the AGWG would also appreciate being kept informed. It is our understanding that a Detective Bonnie McMahon has been put in charge of the investigation and I would also contact her to ensure that she receives this information especially since the county police told the AGWG that no detective had been assigned to investigate these incidents late last week.

  On the day of the Halloween Party, one resident confronted three young men in a silver Honda that were parked partially hidden by the surrounding trees. When confronted as to their intentions, the resident was met with a hostile reply and was told that they were in the area looking for someone. She took a picture of the vehicle that has been turned over to the police. We do not have any evidence that they are connected to the recent rash of thefts, but only that they are persons of interest. I have attached the picture. If you have any information that would identify the occupants, please contact the police immediately.

• On November 4th, in the area of Merrrfields and Merrifields Court, an unlocked SUV was entered. The intruders were surprised by the owner and fled. Two of the possible three can be described as white, in their early twenties and wearing hooded sweatshirts. Shortly afterwards, three bicycles were found in the vicinity, one near the incident and two further west on Merrifields toward Tierra. The bikes may have been used by the intruders and were taken by police, who believe them to be stolen.

  A second incident was also reported last night involving two vehicles at a residence on Baughman in which property was stolen out the vehicles. These incidents are similar to what happened in late September and may be related. If this is the work of the same individuals, their knowledge of the community and its physical surrounding have to this point prevented their apprehension.

• Sep. 4, 2008: Residents are reporting incidences of their unlocked vehicles being entered and searched for items to steal.  In several cases the thieves have stolen loose change in the car.  In some cases nothing appears to have been stolen, but it's obvious that the vehicles were rifled.  All the incidents seem to be happening overnight.  These incidents range from Morningmist Drive to Flint Hill Road and seem to have started Sunday of this week and continued into last night.
  Please remember not to keep valuables in your car, and also to lock your cars. 
  All of the incidents that were reported to AGWG have also been reported to the Montgomery County police department.  If you notice unusual activity in the neighborhood, please alert the police department immediately.  The non-emergency number is 301-279-8000.  And of course, in an emergency, don't hesitate to dial 911.

• On August 31st, a pickup truck was stolen from a home in the vicinity of Tierra and Gayfields. The truck was later abandoned on Drury, but the thieves hijacked another truck from a Campfire Court resident, which was a found few days later heavily damaged and missing all the contents. I have also received an unconfirmed report that a car in the neighborhood had its back window broken, but the alarm scared the thieves away.

• In July, another round of mailbox vandalism occurred.
• On early Sunday morning, May 27th, two residents spotted a suspicious person standing between two homes on Tierra near the intersection of Baughman. This unidentified person left the area shortly afterwards. I urge residents to contact the police to report any suspicious activity. This would justify our requests for increased police patrols. As one police officer remarked in responding to the attempted auto theft incident, he/she was not aware that our community existed.
• In early May a resident observed two males and a female attempt to steal two cars parked at Drury and Campfire Court. Fortunately, nothing was taken, but the suspects fled before the police arrived. An alert resident provided their license number to police and the association has contacted the police to check on the case's status. automobile. The suspects were observed by a neighbor who called the police. While the police were responding, the suspects attempted to break into other cars nearby. There were three suspects, two males and one female.The female was driving their car.
• In April thieves broke the window and stole a briefcase from a car parked in the driveway of a home on Merrifields near Morningmist. An unlocked vehicle across the street was also ransacked, although nothing valuable was take. Make sure to remove any items that look valuable from vehicles in order to deter car burglaries.
• A Marymont resident reported that the windshields of family vehicles were broken out in February.

Burglary Prevention Tips

Here are some suggestions to improve your security while at home:

¥ Panic Button on a home alarm system: in case of break in, an alarm sounds and the police are called.

¥ Panic button on your car key remote, kept by your bed at night. If you hear someone breaking in, you can press the panic button- it might just scare someone off. Something more confrontational is yelling "I have a shotgun and I'm not afraid to use it." Even the sound of a (unloaded) shotgun charging is enough to scare some would-be burglars away. Using handguns to protect your home can have unforseen consequences.

And while you're away:

¥ Motion detector alarms inside the house in case of break in. (Or wire every single point of entry in your house - doors, windows, doggy doors, garage, etc. which is much more expensive). If you don't have a motion detector they can find a way in and not trip an alarm.

¥ Other ideas to prevent theft of valuables:

• Don't keep things in obvious places. If the outdoor alarm is loud enough (and make sure it is) they won't stay long, but if they are already in, they might take a quick look around, knowing it's going to take the police department at least 5-10 minutes, if not longer.
• Don't put your valuable jewelry in a jewelry box (but keep one out in a visible location, containing items you wouldn't be devastated if they took).
• Lock up firearms/other valuables in a safe that is attached to the house. Don't keep financial info or checkbooks in obvious places like desks or drawers. Common sense.

¥ Another tip: Walk around your house like you are a burglar and pretend you have 5 minutes to grab everything valuable you see (that you can carry in a large bag). You'll realize 5 minutes is a long time to open drawers, cabinets, etc. Make sure you make it a waste of time for the burglar or lead him to things that aren't as valuable (e.g., the jewelry box scenario).

¥ Also-remember on holiday weekends or other times where you might go away for more than a few days to let your neighbors know which cars (or if any cars) are supposed to be at your house, try to leave a car parked outside, and ask someone to pick up your mail/newspapers, deliveries, etc. I know most of us are aware of these precautions, but sometimes having a security system gives people a false sense of security, and they let down their guard by failing to do things that they normally would think of.

Home Security Systems Initiative

Joan Donoghue, Membership Committee, Project Leader

Representatives of the five Maryland-based home security firms ranked highest in the most recent Consumer Checkbook came to my home in June 2006 to provide installation estimates. Details are available in the evaluation grid on the Discount Initiatives page. Maximum Secuity continues to offer discounts to AGWG.

Car Alarms Prevent Auto Theft and Personal Injury

Joe Giacalone, AGWG Membership Chair

A female police officer passed this on, and I felt that it might be of some benefit to others.  Sounds like an idea that might have some merit! Put your car keys beside your bed at night. If you hear a noise outside your home or someone is trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies.

This tip came from a Neighborhood watch coordinator. Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this: It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it. It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage. If your car alarm goes  off when someone is trying to break in your house, odds are the burglar or rapist won't stick around...after a few seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won't want that.

And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there. These tips should really be shared with everyone. Maybe it  could possibly save a life.

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