Major Velez at Azteca Restaurant
PGPD’s District 1 commander Major Velez was on hand at the Experience and Enjoy College Park event last night at the newly opened Azteca Restaurant on Route 1.
Around 40 residents joined the meeting.
In his guest speech, Velez touted the gains he achieved in battling crime in the City since he assumed the position of District1 more than a year ago.
He said the overall crime figure has gone down about 11% in the City, keeping a similar pace in the county and also in the nation.
However, he acknowledges property crimes, such as break-ins and thefts are still big concerns to his department.
He said these crime figures go up when the students leave the City during summer vacation.
They also rise when the new students start a school year and do not take enough precaution to secure their properties, in particular vehicles.
As far as north College Park goes, he blamed the rise in this year’s property crime is attributed to the inclusion of apartment complex near IKEA. These properties were part of District 6 last year, but were added to District 1 this year.
I asked him about the this year’s crime statistics; he said he doesn’t have one but will check with his staff. I’ll share with you once he gets back to me.