As carjackings increase in Montgomery County, use of technology helped lower the crime last month, according to a county official.
“We’re up for over the year, but actually April was our lowest month for carjackings in months,” Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Dr. Earl Stoddard said during a media briefing Wednesday.
According to the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD), there were 10 carjackings in January, 10 in February, 16 in March and four in April.
“And that’s because there’s been a concerted effort by the department to use technology,” like license plate readers, camera systems and a violent crime information center to place officers in targeted locations, Stoddard said.
Early this year, MCPD told MyMCM that the department had portable cameras in downtown Silver Spring that are moved around as needed.
“That’s not to say that we don’t need more officers in the street, that’s a big part of this, but also the use of that technology is going to be a big help for us,” Stoddard said.
According to council documents last month, the police department said its vacancy rate was 108. MCPD “faces a 239-officer shortage by 2025” if both recruitment and retention do not increase, per the documents.
Violent crime overall is up by 7.2% for the beginning of the year, he said, which is being almost entirely driven by carjackings, and there are also increases in non-commercial burglaries and weapons offenses. Other crimes, including homicide, aggravated assault, rape and commercial burglary are down.
