A Montgomery County police task force aims to keep shoppers safe this holiday season.
What we know:
It's officially called the Holiday Crime Suppression Task Force. It takes six officers from other parts of the 3rd District and has them focus on retail, transit, and public gathering areas, primarily in downtown Silver Spring, as well as the Orchard Center, located off Cherry Hill Road.
"We know there’s gonna be a lot of people out, they’re carrying money, they’re going shopping, they’re buying gifts," said Cmdr. Jason Cokinos. "What the goal is, is to interdict crime, or hopefully prevent crime, through visibility and police operations so that people can have a safe holiday season."
So Far, So Good:
Earlier this week, on Tuesday night, Cokinos said the task force spotted a fare evader at the Silver Spring Metro. He added that officers went to stop the man, who tried to run. Then, during a struggle, a loaded handgun fell out of his waste band.
"That subject was prohibited from carrying firearms, has a criminal history, involved in a lot of bad things," Cokinos said.
Dig deeper:
Cokinos added that the task force is part of a broader effort to reduce crime in downtown Silver Spring.
He provided Fox 5 with crime data, which showed that year-over-year in downtown Silver Spring:
- Shoplifting and theft are down 21 percent.
- Robberies are down six percent.
- Assaults are down 23 percent.
- Nonfatal shootings are down 63 percent.
- Also, he said there has been just one downtown homicide in 2025, at the intersection of Fenton Street and Richmond Avenue, just two weeks ago.
"Yeah, we have some quality of life issues," Cokinos continued. "We’re working on them. We’re going to continue fighting crime, but it’s definitely a lot better now than it’s been in the past."