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Police urge expanded ‘Operation Take Back’ and return to neighborhood resource officers to address blight and disorder
Summary
Hagerstown police told the Mayor and Council on Sept. 23 that Operation Take Back — a neighborhood walking‑and‑enforcement strategy started on King Street — yielded measurable contacts and arrests and should be expanded to other neighborhoods with strong community involvement.
Hagerstown’s police chief reviewed the department’s Operation Take Back program and recommended expanding similar neighborhood walking details to other areas, including Church Street and portions of Locust and Mulberry.
Program design and results: The chief said the first Operation Take Back in the King Street area combined community walking, targeted enforcement, camera expansion and interagency work. The chief reported that detail produced arrests (the record cites about 26 arrests during a 30‑day detail in a prior operation) and that the effort involved multiple city departments and community organizations. In the King Street example the city worked with a Neighbors First group and coordinated code enforcement, public works and police activities to reduce nuisance problems and improve community confidence.
Potential target areas and community role: Council members and the chief suggested Church Street (Potomac to Burhans), North and South Locust and Bester as possible next targets. The chief emphasized that success depends on community involvement and urged neighborhood messaging and resident participation in “take back your neighborhood” activities. The chief also described a recent 30‑day detail on Church Street that assigned an officer and led to contacts with multiple residents and businesses to assess needs.
Community Resource Officer (CRO) program and staffing: Council members asked about reviving the Community Resource Officer program (officers assigned persistently to specific neighborhoods). The chief said budget and staffing constraints had ended the prior CRO unit but that new academy classes and recent staffing increases make rebuilding the program feasible. The chief said CROs produced long‑term trust in neighborhoods, handled chronic problems and supported prevention work such as walking school bus efforts. The council also noted a Bethel Gardens substation and said staffing for persistent neighborhood presence remains a priority; the record shows a substation item on the Oct. 21 agenda.
Next steps: The chief said staff would compile data for recommended target areas (Locust, Mulberry, Church Street, Bester) and return to the council so the body can prioritize where to deploy a focused take‑back effort. The council requested clear messaging to invite residents to participate.
