Alerts
Operation Santa with a Badge
On December 8th, officers from the University of Maryland Police Department, along with officers from many neighboring police agencies will be participating in "Operation Santa with a Badge", a program developed by Sgt. Michael Rudinski of the Hyattsville City Police Department in 2003. This year, police officers from many local agencies will pick up children in less-fortunate families from around their respective jurisdictions in police cars and take them holiday shopping. Money is raised by the different police agencies, taking collections from local businesses, civic organizations and individual officers. Officers drive the kids to the Prince George's Plaza mall in their police cruisers with the lights and sirens activated. This is very exciting for the children. "This is such a wonderful way our police officers can help make the holiday season just that much more special for a young boy or girl. It is so heartwarming to be a part of this event," stated David B. Mitchell, Chief of Police.
Toys for Tots - UMPD, PGPD, and UMD Athletics
The University of Maryland Police Department is partnering with the Prince George’s County Police Department, the University of Maryland Athletics Dept., and the U. S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots Foundation for the 5th year to collect and distribute toys to children in Prince George’s County, Maryland. UMDPS will have a toy drop-off location in the lobby of the police station located at the corner of Rossborough Lane and Route 1. We will be collecting unwrapped toys until December 19, 2012. Additionally, toys will be collected at MD Terrapins Basketball games between now and December 19th at Comcast Arena. The distribution of toys will take place December 22, 2012 at the Prince George's County Police Headquarters located at 7600 Barlowe Road, Landover, Maryland 20785.
UMD Police Make Quick Apprehension in Strong-Arm Robbery Case
On November 11, 2012 at approximately 3:15 a.m. the Prince George's County Police provided UMPD dispatchers with a description of suspects involved in a strong-arm robbery that had occured off campus on Knox Road in College Park. At 4:15 a.m., a University of Maryland officer observed a vehicle in Lot K matching the description of the suspect vehicle. The officer stopped the vehicle and noticed that the occupants matched the description given earlier by PGPD. The student made a positive identification and the occupants were arrested and turned over the the PGPD detectives for further processing and investigation. Additional information about the incident may be obtained from the Prince George's County Police, Media Relations Division.
UMD Police Officers Among Those Honored at UMD Veterans Day Service
The University of Maryland Division of Student Affairs organized a Veterans Day program to honor University students, faculty and staff who who served in the Armed Forces. Several police officers and civilian employees of the University of Maryland Department of Public Safety were recognized. Captain Robert Mueck, former Army and Coast Guard Reserve, and current Deputy Commander of the UMDPS Support Services Bureau spoke at the event. The event took place November 9, 2012, at the University of Maryland Memorial Chapel. "The parallels drawn between military and law enforcement service are vast and the line between them is often blurred. Both are fighting a war—with our military fighting overseas and our law enforcement often fighting the war on crime domestically. Both professions require courage and bravery—and breed American heroes." - Craig Floyd, Chairman and CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. We are forever indebted to our officers and employees, and all veterans who served this great nation in military service.
No Robbery on 11/1/12; Possible Assault
On November 1, 2012 at approximately 2:20 a.m., University of Maryland Police issued an alert for a possible strong-arm robbery occurring in the College Park Shopping Center (7300 block Baltimore Avenue). The investigation conducted by the Prince George's County Police revealed that a robbery did not occur, but was more likely a simple assault. PGPD is still investigating whether or not a crime was actually committed. Obtaining information from the victim at the scene was extremely difficult due to his level of intoxication. Detectives will be re-interviewing the victim in an attempt to determine what had transpired. University of Maryland Police sent out an alert to the campus community because it was thought at the time that a suspect was still at-large in the area. We feel that it is better to alert the community in order to build awareness so that people can make the best decisions with regard to their safety. While people should always be aware of their surroundings, when we believe that there is a danger to the public at the time, we always err on the side of caution when alerting the campus community.