Story Category: Live Updates »

Christmas Trees are being trimmed, holiday gift shopping has commenced, and soon Menorahs and Kinaras will be lit, all signs the holiday season is upon us.  The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, in cooperation with the Maryland State Police - Leonardtown Barrack, will be conducting Holiday Traffic Safety and Crime Prevention Initiatives beginning December 1st and continuing through the New Year.

“We have many activities in place over the next month to promote safe travel and deter criminal activities such as robberies, shoplifting and thefts from motor vehicles.  We are increasing uniformed and plainclothes foot patrols in shopping centers and utilizing marked, unmarked and covert police vehicles to keep holiday shopping a safe experience for everyone.  We also have planned sobriety checkpoints, and will be conducting numerous drunk and aggressive driving saturation patrols during the week and on weekends.” (Sheriff Timothy K. Cameron)

“We want everyone to have a safe and happy holiday. As such, we are emphasizing traffic safety by encouraging motorists to give extra attention to their driving by reducing speed, increasing hands-free cell phone usage while operating a motor vehicle if cell phones must be used while driving, and reporting aggressive and/or impaired driving.” (Lt. Michael Thompson, MSP) 

Sheriff Cameron and Lt. Thompson would also like citizens to please take the following precautions in securing their vehicles in order to prevent thefts:

1. Lock your vehicle and make sure windows are completely up and secured
2. Lock passenger compartments of your vehicle including the glove box and center console
3. Never leave packages or valuable items in plain view.  Remove them from the vehicle or secure them in the trunk.
4. Know your surroundings, park in well-lit areas and report suspicious activity.

In an “all hands on deck” safety effort, the Sheriff’s Office and Maryland State Police will assign additional deputies and troopers to participate in driving-while-intoxicated saturation patrols on New Year’s Eve. 

By working cooperatively, everyone can be assured a joyous holiday season - Happy Holidays!