Protecting your parks
We are dedicated to protecting the park system and residents of Montgomery County, Maryland. Read our trail safety tips and join our Park Watch Program. Also check out Montgomery County parks and facilities crime reports online. In the event of an emergency, call 301-949-3010.
Latest news
Maryland-National Capital Park Police keep an eye on popular Silver Spring skate spot.
Maryland-National Capital Park Police have been keeping a close eye on a popular Silver Spring skate spot. The new 4,000-square-foot skate spot at Woodside Park in Silver Spring, Maryland, has been flooded with skaters from all over Montgomery County and Washington, D.C. necessitating an increase in both regular and undercover patrols to the park.
"Part of our presence is to help educate all park users in ways that they can get along in a courteous manner and share the space, but I don't think anyone quite expected [the skate spot] to reach that level of use quite so quickly," Chief Darien Manley said. For the full story, read the entire article by Gazette staff writer Jeremy Arias.
Park Police encourage safety on Capital Crescent Trail.
After two serious collisions in the last month involving bicyclists and pedestrians on the Capital Crescent Trail, the Maryland-National Capital Park Police are patrolling the trails to encourage safety. One cyclist has ended up in intensive care after colliding with another biker and a pedestrian was also hospitalized after turning into the path of the bicyclist.
Officers were on the Bethesda stretch of the 11-mile trail on Friday, August 6th handing out trail safety tips to cyclists and pedestrians. Cyclists are urged to slow down and pedestrians are advised to be aware of their surroundings at all times and to take the earphones out of their ears. For the full article and video, check out myfoxdc.com.
Officer Donald Brew interviewed by WTOP federal news radio.
Maryland-National Capital Park Police Officer Donald Brew was interviewed by Kate Ryan of WTOP Federal News Radio on July 31st. Describing what it's like to be a Bicycle Officer, Officer Brew walked Kate through a typical day on patrol on the Capital Crescent Trail. Brew has been patrolling by bike for two years now, having gone through intense training including how to ride up and down stairs. "We learn how to draw a weapon from the bike, skid to a stop and shoot a target. We also learn how to go into a skid, lay on our backs while still straddling the bike and shoot from the ground, because if you're chasing a suspect at a high speed, and a suspect turns around and points a gun at you - it's not a situation you ever want to find yourself in, but we have to practice it," Officer Brew said.
On the day Kate interviewed Officer Brew, there was a collision between a cyclist and pedestrian. Unfortunately with the popularity of the trail, these accidents are becoming more frequent. Brew says two things are particularly troublesome on the trail: pets on long leashes which are allowed to stretch across the trail, and children who are still learning to handle a bike joining the crowds on the weekends. Read the full article and view the video at wtopnews.com.
Park Police find marijuana in parks.
During this NBC News episode, News4 Reporter John Schriffen interviews Lt. Brian Smith about finding marijuana grow sites in Montgomery County, Maryland parks. Police have been searching the parks from the air and the ground for 20 years now seizing millions of dollars in pot. John Schriffen followed Officers as they went through Seneca Creek Park to check on one of their latest finds -- a grow site equipped with fencing, water and branches to disguise the illegal activity. The plants had already been harvested but at another nearby grow site, 12 marijuana plants worth about $18,000 were confiscated.
“Even though it’s being grown here, this is being distributed throughout the county and throughout the metropolitan region to your friends and neighbors and maybe even your children,” said Lt. Brian Smith. It’s not easy to catch the planters. Stakeouts can last days but Park Police do it to make sure our parks stay safe and drugs stay off the streets. “A lot of these grow sites are booby trapped because they want to tell if they’ve been discovered. They also want to give themselves warning and they want to keep other people away from them,” Smith said. "So this could be potentially dangerous to park patrons and their pets.”
Read the full article and view the video at http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local-beat/Police-Find-Pot-Growing-In-Public-Parks-In-Montgomery-County-98801754.html.
Date of last update: August 16, 2010
Maryland-National Capital Park Police, Montgomery County Division