Safe Cities Project proposal to target commercial areas

Measures including call boxes, crime alert system could come through business partners

The Safe Cities Project, a community-based initiative to improve safety in commercial areas through partnership and technology, is backed by the Target Corporation, which approached the police department with the idea, according to Holland.

In efforts to promote safe communities, the company formed ‘‘Target & Blue,” a project that utilizes local law enforcement resources and grant donations to build programs like Safe City.

In some cities, the grants have afforded police the chance to purchase crime-fighting tools.

At a February City Council meeting, Holland said the program also could include closed-circuit TV, emergency call boxes, an e-mail alert system, and red light and speed cameras.

‘‘Fiscal aspects of the plan would be addressed by the council as I bring those items to them for consideration,” he said in an e-mail. ‘‘There is no definite timetable to do that at this time.”

If implemented, the technology portion of the project would be phased in beginning with the East West Highway commercial corridor including the Mall at Prince Georges, the future Shops at Metro across from the mall, the Hamilton Street area and the Route 1 corridor.

‘‘We would like to start by inviting all business owners to meet with us to explain the program and invite them to be partners,” Holland told the council.

‘‘As the project grows, additional technology could be implemented in all three areas. The Web-based alert system would be available to all businesses and residents in the city.”

Emergency call boxes allow crime victims or witnesses to pick up a phone and dial 911. Holland said some are installed in parking garages at University Town Center, a development off Belcrest Road and East West Highway.

University Town Center President Herschel Blumberg supports the initiative, telling council members his company has a ‘‘strong commitment” to it.

‘‘This is an opportunity for making the whole much greater than the parts,” he said of Hyattsville’s commercial community. ‘‘By pooling our resources and adding to them, we can make the City of Hyattsville even more vibrant than it is now.”

Holland and Mayor William Gardiner are hoping a safer community will be good for business. ‘‘... This partnership will help us improve safety in public areas — particularly those within commercial districts — in a cost-effective manner,” Gardiner said.

E-mail Sarah Nemeth at snemeth@gazette.net.