Protecting your parks
We are dedicated to protecting the park system and residents of Montgomery County, Maryland. Read our trail safety tips and join our Park Watch Program. Also check out Montgomery County parks and facilities crime reports online. In the event of an emergency, call 301-949-3010.
Latest news
Park Police find marijuana in parks.
During this NBC News episode, News4 Reporter John Schriffen interviews Lt. Brian Smith about finding marijuana grow sites in Montgomery County, Maryland parks. Police have been searching the parks from the air and the ground for 20 years now seizing millions of dollars in pot. John Schriffen followed Officers as they went through Seneca Creek Park to check on one of their latest finds -- a grow site equipped with fencing, water and branches to disguise the illegal activity. The plants had already been harvested but at another nearby grow site, 12 marijuana plants worth about $18,000 were confiscated.
“Even though it’s being grown here, this is being distributed throughout the county and throughout the metropolitan region to your friends and neighbors and maybe even your children,” said Lt. Brian Smith. It’s not easy to catch the planters. Stakeouts can last days but Park Police do it to make sure our parks stay safe and drugs stay off the streets. “A lot of these grow sites are booby trapped because they want to tell if they’ve been discovered. They also want to give themselves warning and they want to keep other people away from them,” Smith said. "So this could be potentially dangerous to park patrons and their pets.”
Read the full article and view the video at http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local-beat/Police-Find-Pot-Growing-In-Public-Parks-In-Montgomery-County-98801754.html.
Date of last update: July 23, 2010
Maryland-National Capital Park Police, Montgomery County Division