Public safety was the largest concern for people participating in the Charles County Vision in Teamwork and Leadership conference on Tuesday morning in La Plata.  During the conference, several public safety leaders in the county spoke about the challenges they face and what needs to be done to move forward.

Residents are becoming more concerned with the crime rate in Charles County, which is higher than counties of similar size like Carroll County and Washington County.  Sheriff Rex Coffey (D) said improvements are being made, especially when it comes to response times.  Coffey also emphasized how the Charles County Sheriff’s Office continues to reach out to the youth.

National Night Out, Badges for Baseball, Teen Court, Shop with a cop, Project Graduation and other programs reach out to the community and have been effective.  Charles County has a very large participation rate in the National Night Out program.  However, Coffey says it’s impossible to measure its success.

The sheriff’s office also makes in impact in high school.  The new WECARE program has had success in teaching teenagers more advanced driving skills and has cut back on a major problem the county faced a few years ago with teen driver fatalities.  Before they instituted the program, fatal accidents involving teen drivers were all too common.  

Coffey also addressed the hot button issue involving the St. Charles Town Center, reminding residents the mall was safe to shop at.  Coffey did say the sheriff’s office is working with the mall to install security cameras and add more security guards at the mall.  Right now, the biggest issue at the mall is shoplifting.  Coffey also said the office is working on solving the recent rash of break-ins in Pinefield.

Duane Svities, Charles County Volunteer Fire Chief, also reported progress.  Savities said Nanjemoy presents the largest challenge to firefighters because of its distance to any fire stations.  Svities stressed the need for more volunteer firefighters and promoted the benefits presented for volunteers such as tax breaks and a number of scholarships for those attending college.

Svities said the majority of their current recruitment comes from word of mouth, advertising at Regency Furniture Stadium, National Night Out, high school cadet programs, and the Charles County Fair.  He said they aim to use social media in the future for outreach.  He also requested the commissioners look in to a county property tax deduction for volunteers.

Bill Stephens, Director of Emergency Services, and State’s Attorney Tony Covington also spoke about the challenges they face.  Stephens spoke about the challenging year his department has had with the snowstorms, the August 23rd earthquake, Hurricane Irene and the devastating floods caused by Tropical Storm Lee.  Covington’s biggest challenge is the current amount of staff, stating that smaller counties and counties with much lower crime totals have more staff than Charles County.