Community leaders drafting plan for fighting crime
By Lester J. Davis Published
March 9, 2006 www.gazette.net
Local clergy and business leaders are preparing a master list of suggestions that they hope will help elected officials fight crime and raise educational standards in Prince George’s County.
About 500 residents gathered on Saturday for a follow up meeting to a countywide town hall that was held in January, said C. Anthony Muse, the head of Clergy United and one of the event’s organizers.
"We had a good turnout and residents came to find out how,” they could bring about serious change, Muse said.
The town hall meeting and Saturday’s follow-up were held in response to concerns about crime in Prince George’s County, which had a record 173 homicides in 2005.
During Saturday’s meeting, residents were divided into four groups and were led by professional facilitators, who helped them construct a list of suggestions. The laundry list is currently being pared down to a few suggestions that community leaders said are short-term goals. The items will be revealed in the next couple of weeks during a press conference, Muse added.
Among the gathering of residents, Muse said, there were 50 leaders of county civic associations and 30 pastors from area churches.
Muse said that many of the residents who attended the meeting spoke about wanting to be part of a catalyst that brings about changes in the county’s educational system.
"We plan to help push legislation and we’ll help look at the budget. I don’t believe that government is doing nothing. I just feel that it’s not enough,” Muse said.
M.H. Jim Estepp, the head of the Greater Prince George’s Business Roundtable, and an organizer of the event, said that he’s confident that a group of concerned residents could successfully bring about changes in local government.
Elected officials, "may not agree with everything or agree that they can do everything on the list, but we want them to work with us to make fighting crime a top priority,” Estepp said.
Muse said that he too is optimistic about the county’s future.
"We’ve just got to pull people together.... It’s just an honest attempt to ask ‘what can we do to help,’” Muse said.
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