North County residents say they are pleased with the recent monthlong crackdown on crime in the area where Brooklyn Park abuts Baltimore.
"It scares the willies out of everybody to begin with, knowing that we have this element roaming around our community," said Woody Bowen, president of the Olde Brooklyn Park Improvement Association.
He said neighborhood residents are relieved to know that several dozen arrests were made, homes raided, and drugs and guns seized, because that will alleviate the problem for now. But residents still feel uneasy, he said, because drug trafficking is sufficiently lucrative that newcomers will take over and dealers who are arrested will have the money to post bond.
Anne Arundel and Baltimore police targeted drug dealing and gang activity in the northern tip of the county in a joint operation called Street Sweeper. Working with other agencies, they charged 70 people and seized a variety of drugs with an estimated street value of more than $130,000, said Lt. James Fredericks of the Anne Arundel County police.
Anne Arundel Police Chief James Teare Jr. said two gang members were among those charged.
Behind the crackdown were community complaints about drugs, along with robberies and related crime, and the ability of criminals to play cat-and-mouse across the county-city line, Fredericks said. People committed crimes in Anne Arundel, but then avoided county police by disappearing into city neighborhoods, he said.
The operation, from April 21 though May 22, targeted drug dealers, but included gang activity, prostitution, outstanding warrants and more. Police seized two guns and more than $4,700 in cash.
The efforts came on the heels of a community meeting about gangs, in which police discussed how to spot gang graffiti, known as tags, and identify possible gang members and activity, Bowen said.
Police and community leaders continue to ask residents to call police with information about what they suspect is drug dealing and other crimes.
"I get phone calls constantly from people who say, 'I see these people here' and 'I see these people there,' or 'I see this vehicle driving around so slow,' " Bowen said.
Ned Carey, an Anne Arundel County school board member from the area, praised the police strategy of working cooperatively and noted that he's seen fewer people loitering near the city-county line.
