College Park to look into potential new police department

The City of College Park is taking another look at the feasibility of having its own police force as part of a public safety study.

This study, which should wrap up its final report by the end of the year, comes after the city learned that public safety was a high priority for residents on a community satisfaction survey, Mayor Fazlul Kabir told The Black Explosion.

The mayor said the study isn’t just looking at policing. It also explores other ways to improve safety, such as improving street lights and understanding the underlying reasons behind crime.

As part of looking into the feasibility of a College Park police force, the study will investigate the costs involved with starting and maintaining a police department. The idea was last investigated in 2018, Kabir said.

The city receives policing services through the Prince George’s County Police Department as well as the University of Maryland Police Department. According to Kabir, a theoretical city police department would replace patrol and investigation services provided by the county police.

Kabir said the previous 2018 study determined that the city wouldn’t get enough funding back from the county—for not using its patrol and investigation services—to completely cover policing costs.

The mayor said he thinks the city doesn’t need a large police department, as UMPD covers a significant part of the College Park.

UMD students have mixed feelings about the potential of a College Park police department.

Ezra Gashaw, a junior information science major, said it could be useful but believes expanding UMPD would be more effective. He also expressed concerns about the number of police acting concurrently in one location.

“I think that [in] College Park and specifically the areas around UMD, there’s so much going on that having a city police force would be pretty helpful, but I think it just comes down to, is it going to add more to the problem?” Gashaw said.

Gashaw said he believes College Park is decently safe, but some areas off-campus have issues, and a city force could assist with that.

Junior computer science major Raymond Flowers said that there should only be a separate department if there are gaps in coverage, but in the end, adding a force wouldn’t make people feel safer.

Safiyah Fatima, a junior computer science major, said she’s neutral on the issue of creating a separate force but wishes the city would invest the money that would theoretically be used for other things, like welfare services and community programs.

“I don’t think that policing will make [College Park] safer, necessarily,” Fatima said.