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Street robberies main crime problem in Montgomery, police chief says
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WASHINGTON (Map, News) - J. Thomas Manger became Montgomery County’s police chief in February 2004 after serving 27 years with the Fairfax County Police Department, where he was appointed chief in 1998. A lifelong Orioles fan, he was born in Baltimore and moved to Silver Spring when he was 14.
What crime trends have you witnessed recently?
The most significant crime issue we are dealing with are street robberies. It is the only category of crime that has increased steadily over the past four years. Typically, we have cases involving a group of suspects who target a lone individual, [often] taking their wallet or cell phone. While robberies are our most serious crime issue, having one’s car broken into is the most common crime committed in Montgomery County. Lock your car!
What would you like people to know about the most difficult aspects of your daily work?
The men and women who choose to become police officers can expect a tough job, but a rewarding career if they stick with it. Being a cop is not for everyone. It is a tremendously complicated job that requires patience, courage, intelligence and most of all integrity. While most folks become police officers with the desire to serve their community, they quickly learn that many of their job tasks are unpopular and not always appreciated by the public. The best cops learn to put that in perspective, make the little victories count, and keep doing their job fairly and consistently.
What inspired you to become a police officer?
I knew that I was drawn to some kind of “public service”-type job even as a teenager. I started college majoring in journalism, then decided that I could fight for justice better as a police officer. ... I am proud of what I do, and have had the privilege of working with some of the best human beings that you can imagine.
What do you do in your free time?
I typically work many late nights and have weekend obligations associated with my job. So any free time I have, I spend with my family. Our two children keep my wife and me endlessly busy and entertained.
Comments from Examiner Readers
10:31 PM MST on Fri., Apr. 25, 2008 re: "Montgomery budget debate forces choice: Cops or patrol cars?"
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8:08 AM MST on Tue., Apr. 22, 2008
re: "Montgomery budget debate forces choice: Cops or patrol cars?"
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mcp officer said:
First of all, our police cruisers certainly do not cost $50,000 a piece. The county gets a large bulk discount so they cost closer to half that. In reality the purchase of 35 more police cruisers is not going to hurt the county budget. It just spreads the mileage between more police cruisers. Currently officers who live outside the county share fleet cars that are driven 24 hrs a day and are heavily abused and frequently break down. They fleet cars quickly run up in mileage and have to be repaired at high costs. Having a vehicle assigned to each officer actually keeps every officer accountable for the care and maintenance of their cruiser and greatly reducing repair costs. Also consider that these cars are not just sitting in lots. Most officers, even those outside to county, use their vehicles during their off days for overtime details and court. These vehicles are being driven and serve as a deterrent for crime. The police must make sacrifices, but cutting cars isnt the way.
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Thomas Hardman said:
Montgomery County is becoming the proper target of ironic remarks. In a time of falling housing costs, the County would be better served, as would be the officers, if the County spent its money on finding in-county homes for officers, rather than buying take-home cars that can't be taken home and have to be left parked in commuter lots. Besides, with fuel costs being what they are, and with police-car "economy" being what it is, nobody should be commuting a hundred or more miles a day in a gas-sucking police cruiser. That's just senseless waste. No, the only reasonable thing is to find housing for officers so that they can live very near to where they work. And the only "reasonable" reason any officer could give -- in these times of rapidly falling housing costs -- for not living in the County, is that these officers believe that the County is an unsafe place to raise their families. And if they believe that, they have to also know that they're not doing their jobs.
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