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Committee moves George Nader nomination forward as police chief, 5-0
Summary
The Health, Human Services & Public Safety Committee unanimously recommended George Nader for Prince George’s County police chief after testimony highlighting his 31 years of law enforcement experience, a focus on staffing and technology, and community-engagement initiatives.
The Prince George’s County Council Health, Human Services & Public Safety Committee voted 5-0 to move forward the appointment of acting Chief George Nader to be the county’s police chief.
Danielle Hunter, appointment liaison for the county executive, presented Nader’s nomination and summarized his 31 years in law enforcement and more than 18 years in executive command positions. Deputy Chief James McCreary told the committee that agency personnel were enthusiastic about Nader’s return, and he highlighted staffing shortfalls and the need to update technology to aid recruitment and operations.
Nader told the committee he plans to pursue “root cause” strategies that pair policing with social services, and he described specific actions and priorities taken since returning to the department: a 90-day assessment on staffing and recruitment; community recruiting and outreach such as having the department’s helicopter and recruiting unit attend the airshow to attract applicants; reinstating the human trafficking unit to address missing-persons and trafficking concerns; and efforts to partner with municipal agencies, the sheriff’s office and other county entities. He emphasized youth engagement and restoring programs such as a youth advisory committee and school resource officer direction that focuses on mentorship in schools.
On federal immigration enforcement, Nader said the county policy is not to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a way that provides information about residents, while acknowledging that police cannot interfere with federal agents’ lawful duties. He described the need to rebuild trust with immigrant communities so residents will report crimes and testify as needed.
Nader identified technology and staffing as priorities, noting the department’s work to modernize recruiting and consider tools such as body cameras with multilingual translation and other tech to support victim reporting and investigations. He also described “Blue Lights Nights,” a planned region-wide community engagement and targeted traffic enforcement event intended to increase public safety and visibility.
Committee members expressed strong support and repeatedly cited the nominee’s local ties and previous service. A motion to move the nomination favorably carried on a 5-0 roll call: Chair Blige (yes), Vice Chair Fisher (yes), Council Member Olson (yes), Council Vice Chair Oriada (yes) and Council Member Watson (yes).
