Standing in front of the largest recruitment class in more than a decade Monday, Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy thanked the chief of police, the officers in the department and the community for driving down crime in 2025.
“Public safety and crime stats, they don’t decrease just because of the work of the police alone,” she said. “It really takes a community committed to ensuring safety for their fellow neighbors that assist us in ensuring that crime goes down.”
And down it’s gone.
According to police, murder is down 40%, robbery down 48%, carjacking down 55%, sex offense down 23%, domestic violence down 2%, overall violent crime down 19%, and total crime is down 16%, with 4,755 fewer victims.
Domestic violence has been a troubling trend in the county, but this year, county officials took a new approach, adding the sheriff’s department to calls.
“In the month of November,” Sheriff John Carr said, “we have actually decreased our numbers in protective orders and peace orders.”
He says the decrease comes from a partnership with the courts, the family justice center and being proactive in the community.
While murders are down, the homicide closure rate is up.
Prince George’s County Chief of Police George Nader says his detectives have closed 80% of the cases they have investigated this year.
He also noted a drop in the number of juveniles killed in the county.
“Last year, there were nine; this year, there were five,” Nader said. “And all five of those cases are closed.”
Across the border with D.C., the Metropolitan Police Department’s crime statistics are under federal scrutiny.
“Our crime numbers are transparent,” Nader said. “We would invite anybody to ask questions. I think throughout time that that has been brought up in numerous agencies time and time again, but it’s really easy to prove.”
“And if we don’t have accurate reporting, it affects our strategies,” he added.
County officials say with the new recruit class, the department will have a net gain of officers instead of a drop with officers leaving or retiring.
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