Citizens Meeting On Crime In Pocomoke

Here you go citizens of Pocomoke! The door is wide open for all of you to join in next time. Let the city councilmen and your police chief know what YOU expect! They can't read your mind and that won't know how you feel just by sitting at home and texting you best friend about the drug bust YOU just watched from your windown. It doesn't happen like that.

You don't need the Mayor to babysit. You need the people that were present at this meeting to continue to help all of you with your need to fight crime. You need to let your chief know that NONE of you will tolerate this type of community abuse any longer.

There is no need to sit back and let someone else take care of it. It's everyone's problem. You people of Pocomoke know how to work together as a community. You have their attention and it is up to you to help THEM help you as taxpaying citizens of Pocomoke. And one thing for sure, Chief Ervin works for all of you.

The Neighborhood Crime Watch group is only as good as the 2-way participation..........takes the citizens and it takes the city police.

POCOMOKE CITY -- Police Chief J.D. Ervin asked for citizens to step forward and help form Neighborhood Crime Watch groups throughout the city.

Speaking during a community meeting at New Macedonia Baptist Church, Ervin said five sections of the town had been formed some time back as crime-watch zones. All have been active at one time or another, he said, but had been discontinued by the residents involved in them. Anyone who wishes to volunteer can call the chief at 410-957-1600.

Most of the people attending the meeting, including members of the City Council, police, candidates for office and area residents, were in agreement that action needed to be taken to prevent crime. They thought that there would be better attendance at the meetings if residents were aware of the action.

Carroll Overholt, a retired Maryland State Police officer and candidate for sheriff, spoke out in favor of the crime watches, saying that the police can't solve the problems alone. "We don't have enough police," he said.

However, James Jones, an area resident, said that there is talk in the streets about what is going on at community meetings like the one at New Macedonia. "We have their attention," he said.

Dean Guy, a Pocomoke property owner, said that he has called police about the drug problem he sees, and has even offered to allow the police use a vacant house to observe the area. He said he thinks crime levels are getting worse.

But Ervin said statistics show the crime rate is down, and figures on crime compiled by the FBI back up that assertion. The statistics show Pocomoke police took reports on 28 violent crimes occur in 2009, compared to 31 such crimes in 2008 and 29 in 2007. Police in the city recorded 216 instances of property crime in 2009, compared to 239 property crimes in 2008 and 243 such cases of burglary, theft and arson in 2007.

Council member Bruce Morrison called drugs a problem that will never go away. He said that he gets weekly reports about arrests and then sees where the crimes are not processed. "They are let go," he said. He added that he has talked to people in his district about it, and that no one wants to get involved.

The discussion turned to neighborhoods, but Councilman Robert Clarke called the entire town of Pocomoke City his neighborhood.

The next community meeting is planned for Saturday, Oct. 16, at 10 a.m. at New Macedonia Church.

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