MR. KOJO NNAMDIFrom WAMU 88.5 at American University in Washington, welcome to "The Kojo Nnamdi Show," connecting your neighborhood with the world. Later in the broadcast, it's your turn to discuss crime in your neighborhood. What's happening in Libya, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Anthony Weiner? Get it? Anything you'd like to discuss. But, first, property crime is up across our region.

MR. KOJO NNAMDIAnd many people believe that rising temperatures bring a rise in crime. Police agree that as people spend time outside, purses will get snatched and bicycles will disappear from porches. And they warn of other more serious crimes. Homes get burglarized as people leave on vacation, and several assaults have already been reported along our region's bike and running trails.

MR. KOJO NNAMDIAnd it may be an urban legend, but some say heat waves bring a spike in homicides. In response, police and local organizations are stepping up their efforts. Youth programs keep teens engaged in camp or a summer job when school lets out. Police across the region increase patrols in the areas where the most incidents are reported. And both police and neighborhood watch groups share tips with the community on how not to be a victim of crime.

MR. KOJO NNAMDIJoining us to discuss and share some of those safety tips is Angela Alsobrooks. She is Maryland State's Attorney for Prince George's County. Angela Alsobrooks, good to see you again.

MS. ANGELA ALSOBROOKSThank you so much for having me.

NNAMDIAlso with us in studio is Samantha Nolan. She is a neighborhood watch trainer and at-large member of the Chief's Citizen Advisory Council in Washington, D.C. Samantha, good to see you again, also.

MS. SAMANTHA NOLANYou as well.

NNAMDIKatie DeFoe is the crime prevention officer for Reston District in Fairfax County. Officer DeFoe, welcome.

MS. KATIE DEFOEThank you, thank you.

NNAMDIYou, too, can join this conversation. What precautions do you take when you go on vacation to secure your house? You can call us at 800-433-8850. Or you can go to our website, kojoshow.org. Join the conversation there. Send us a tweet, @kojoshow, or email to kojo@wamu.org. Angela Alsobrooks, it's conventional wisdom, but there does seem to be a debate about whether crime actually goes up in the summer.

ALSOBROOKSI've heard this, but what we've learned through our police department is that we do actually experience a spike in the summer. And so the police department in Prince George's County has really been proactive this summer in introducing a summer initiative that is designed to cover five areas in Prince George's County where they have studied data that shows in four categories crime is up.

ALSOBROOKSAnd they have a very proactive approach that the state's attorney office has partnered with them, along with other agencies across the county, to make sure that we are prepared to stem any spike in crime and, in fact, to make sure that we are not only stopping crime in these areas but that we have an opportunity to raise the areas as well.

NNAMDIKatie DeFoe, it's my understanding that, while crime overall may not necessarily go up during the summer, there are particular types of crimes that do go up in the summertime. What kinds of crimes do we tend to see in the warmer months?

DEFOEI think graffiti definitely increases because it's much nicer outside. The weather is generally not cold. We also see a lot more people just out and about in general. In the winter months, it's easier to stay inside and not be active. Well, in Reston, with our many miles of trails, we have a lot of outdoor activities that go on every weekend at night when they're home from work. We see a lot more activity just generally outside.

DEFOESo we see more suspicious activity calls. We see more calls that people are paying attention, looking around, seeing things that are going on that could be criminal in nature or maybe not. But they're calling the police more.

NNAMDIAngela Alsobrooks, does juvenile crime go up also because school is out in the summertime?

ALSOBROOKSAbsolutely. And one of the things that we've been concerned about with juvenile crime is the burglaries. We've seen a rise, unfortunately, in some of the home invasions. And we are able to tie in, unfortunately, some of those crimes, some of the property crimes to the juveniles. We find that connection as well with truancy. So when students are out of school for one reason or another, we find it to be problematic.

NNAMDIWhich is one of the reasons why it's so important, I guess, to have summer activities for students. I grew up in Guyana, South America, where the month of August, you got off because there is no real summer. It's summer all year round. And I went to high school with three guys who at the ages of 12, 13 and 14, respectively -- all brothers -- when their mother, who was a single parent, let them out in the morning, they would go out and rampage through the neighborhood all day long, then come home in the evening and spread the booty, usually fruit that they'd stolen from people's fruit trees around.

NNAMDIThose three men are, today, all Ph.D.s. Two of them teach at colleges in the United States, one of the chairmen of a department, but it just goes to show that their activity had to do with the fact that they were bored and had nothing else to do during the day. So that's important. Samantha Nolan, a lot of crimes are crimes of opportunity. What kinds of things do you tell people to be aware of in the summer?

NOLANWe have similar crimes in the summer as we do in the winter, but they change. When you go on vacation, it's really important to have somebody already assigned to mow your lawn because tall grass is a red flag for a burglary. A lot of people pack up their car the night before they're ready to go on a vacation and come out in the morning, and there's nothing in the car. So we ask people, please, don't put anything of value in your car unless you're in your car with it.

NOLANAnd the other crime I'm seeing a lot of is, during the warm weather, people eat in outdoor cafes. And we're still having a lot of women with purses on the backs of chairs. You know, inside of a restaurant, that's a problem. But outside of a restaurant, it's even more of a problem because you don't know who's taken the purse from the back of a chair. And we're asking people, please keep them in your laps.

NNAMDIAnd at home, people leave garage doors open. People leave bikes on the porch while they run inside to get a glass of water.

NOLANWell, we also have people leaving their windows open during the summer to get the cool breeze in, but they're also leaving their ladders out. So, you know...

NNAMDIAn open window, a ladder right there, it's a crime of opportunity.

NOLANRight. They might close the windows on the first floor and open them on the second floor, thinking that's safe. But with a ladder right next to the house, they're just creating a crime of opportunity.

NNAMDIWe're talking about summer crime and offering safety tips and inviting your calls at 800-433-8850. Or you can go to our website, kojoshow.org. Do you sometimes forget to close your garage door while you're outside gardening or forget to lock your car? Call us, 800-433-8850. We've got some tips for you. And, Katie DeFoe, you also got some basic tips, like locking your car.

DEFOEAbsolutely. Locking your car door, closing your garage door and taking your valuables out of your car.

NNAMDISamantha, besides locking your doors, you believe that more than 80 percent of crimes are preventable through education.

NOLANI do.

NNAMDIHow is that possible?

NOLANWell, if you get a crime report, as I do every day, I can go down that crime report and see most of them could have been prevented just through change in behavior. And we really need to teach people what those behaviors are. If you're going on vacation and you don't cancel your paper and the paper piles up on the front step, that's a crime of opportunity. People who are looking to create -- to commit burglaries are looking for red flags and tall grass, newspapers out front, flyers.

NOLANA lot of the gardeners will attach flyers to a door handle and then come back three days later. The burglars will drive through the neighborhood to see which houses have not removed that flyer. That means they're on vacation, and nobody is looking out for them. So there are so many ways, just by changing behavior, that we can decrease crime in the city.

NNAMDIWe did a show on neighborhood watch back -- I think it was early in April. For those who might have missed us -- missed it, tell us a little bit about neighborhood watch.

NOLANWell, in D.C., what we're doing is citywide neighborhood watch. We're trying to set up a program in every neighborhood and have one person become the director who will connect to all the block captains. And we're trying to get one person who will be responsible on every block for educating that block about ways to prevent crime and also to look out for that block so that if neighbors are going on vacation, they can tell that block captain.

NOLANAnd that block captain will remove the flyers from the doors and will remove the weekly newsletter that comes that you can't stop. You know, we can stop our Washington Post. But those weekly newspapers that come out, it's almost impossible to stop those. And if they sit out for several days on the front lawn, that's just a red flag for a burglary.

NNAMDIAnything similar to neighborhood watch in Prince George's County, Angela Alsobrooks?

ALSOBROOKSOh, absolutely. Part of what the police department has done is to partner with our communities, and we have activities ongoing throughout the summer in each of the targeted areas where police come out and share information with the community. And we will receive information from the community as well. One of the other items I wanted to point out is we have a (word?) group that has worked together with the Department of Public Works and Transportation, the Department of Environmental Resources.

ALSOBROOKSAnd we're targeting abandoned and foreclosed properties as well. As Ms. DeFoe was talking about, the vacant properties that really do signal that there's an opportunity for crime, our office is working along with the police department and all of the agencies in the county to make sure that we are targeting those properties and addressing the properties with the owners to make sure that that we are not attracting crime in some of our areas as well.

NNAMDIKatie DeFoe, Reston police, like a lot of police departments, puts out flyers with tips for people to avoid becoming crime victims. What do you recommend people do or don't do when they go away in the summertime?

DEFOEMake sure that the house has the appearance of being lived in, setting timers inside to have lights go off, even talk radio on, so it sounds like someone is home, making sure that lights are on on the exterior but can go off during the daytime, making sure that someone is picking up the mail or the papers and generally having someone pay attention to that property to give the appearance that it is well taken care of.

NNAMDIBring in garbage cans, have blinds, curtains over first floor windows.

DEFOEAbsolutely. Make sure the windows are locked.

NNAMDIOn to the telephones now. Here is Ron in Alexandria, Va. Ron, thank you very much for joining us. Ron, you are director of the Office of Youth Services in the Department of Community and Human Services. Is that correct?

MR. RON FRAZIERThat's correct, yes.

NNAMDIWhat's your last name, Ron?

FRAZIERRon Frazier.

NNAMDIGo right ahead, Ron.

FRAZIEROkay. I just wanted -- I was asked to kind of call in and give some things that we're doing in Alexandria.

NNAMDISure.

FRAZIEROne of the things that we're doing is we are providing opportunities for young people through summer programs. And what we're doing is actually trying to make the community aware of a lot of offerings so that people can avoid -- so we give our young people something constructive to do during the summer. And those programs are offered in both by city agencies and both community agencies.

FRAZIERAnd so, in partnership with our community, nonprofit organizations, my office actually makes a composite list of those opportunities that make some available on the city website, the Alexandria city government website. In addition to that, the recreation department publishes a list of summer camps and summer opportunities and summer trips that they're having -- that they're offering during the summer.

FRAZIERThey will, for example, work in partnership with the Department of Community and Human Services to offer something called KAT camp, Kids Are Terrific. And that will be offered throughout the community. The Urban League, for example, is having a digital connectors program, which young will be able to explore the use of computers and multimedia, developing a multimedia portfolio.

FRAZIERAnd one other exciting opportunity is our substance abuse prevention coalition. We'll be having a youth mapping exercise this summer where young people hired through our workforce development program will actually go out in the community and map their community in terms of the resources, the opportunities and the things that exist in our community for young people. That's just some of the things that we're doing in Alexandria over the summer to keep our young people...

NNAMDIRon Frazier is director of the Office of Youth Services in the Department of Community and Human Services in Alexandria. Ron, thank you very much for your call. You, too, can call us at 800-433-8850. Or you can send us an email to kojo@wamu.org. Here is Dean in Bethesda, Md. Hi, Dean.

DEANHi. How are you all?

NNAMDIWell.

DEANGood. So my observation is from two Saturdays ago. I had some out-of-towners come down. I took them into D.C., went to Chinatown about 2:30 on the afternoon on Saturday. And the amount of kids down there -- and I don't know if it's uncivil behavior or criminal behavior, but it's just a real threatening environment.

DEANAnd when I hear, from time to time, news stories about assaults and robberies and, you know, it seems like Chinatown is not being well-guarded by the police. I'd like to know what D.C. police are doing about that situation. I'll take my comment...

NNAMDIWe don't have any representatives of the District of Columbia Police Department here. But Samantha Nolan is a neighborhood watch trainer, and there are people who live in that neighborhood, even though there are a lot of businesses there also, Samantha.

NOLANWell, we are -- actually, I was on the last time with you. We talked about setting up neighborhood watch right in that neighborhood, and we're working on that.

NNAMDICorrect.

NOLANThere are a lot of kids around the Verizon Center and that area, and -- especially before and after events at Verizon Center. You will see a lot of people on the street. We do recommend that if you're leaving some place late at night, we've had people -- victims between 1:00 and 3:00 in the morning who are leaving establishments. We ask you to, please, arrange for a taxi to pick you up before you leave, and don't walk alone in those areas.

NOLANWe are working with youth services in D.C. to deal with the problem with the youth congregating around the subways in that area as well. So we're working on it, but the one point I wanted to say about that area is that we are having victims who are walking home late at night, three o'clock in the morning. And the fewer people out on the street, the more you become a sitting target for a robbery.

NOLANAnd we ask to please make arrangements for transportation, and don't walk alone on the street.

NNAMDIWith that tip, we're going to take a short break. We'll come back and continue this conversation on safety tips during the summer to avoid being a victim of crime. But you can still call, 800-433-8850. And later in the broadcast, it'll be your turn to discuss whatever is on your mind. 800-433-8850 is the number to call, or you can send us a tweet, @kojoshow. I'm Kojo Nnamdi.

NNAMDISafety tips to avoid being a victim of crime during the hot months of the summer is what we're talking about. Our guest Angela Alsobrooks is Maryland State's Attorney for Prince George's County. She joins us in studio, along with Katie DeFoe, the crime prevention officer for Reston District in Fairfax County. And Samantha Nolan is a neighborhood watch trainer and an at-large member of the Chief's Citizen Advisory Council in Washington, D.C.

NNAMDIWe got a note from someone, Samantha, saying, "I got what looked like a ticket on my car a few weeks ago. It was really a tip from police because we had either left valuables in the car or had left doors unlocked." What's that about?

NOLANWell, we're trying to address those crimes of opportunity. And we tried this a couple of years ago. We left white notices on cars saying, you've left your laptop or something like that, and we realized that people committing theft from auto were looking for our white cards. So that one didn't work too well. But we now have these cards that look like a ticket so that people passing by won't know whether it's a ticket or whether it's our message. But it tells them that they...

NNAMDIBut if it's your car, you're definitely going to look at it.

NOLANYou will look at it, yes. You'll take -- well, most people look at it. Some people I see driving around with tickets flying off their windshield, and they don't pick it up. They think if they don't look at it, they don't have to pay it, but...

NNAMDIIt'll go away.

NOLANYeah, but we've had really good luck with these. And I've heard from a lot of people saying that they appreciated the police taking the time to let them know that they'd left their car unlocked or that they'd left a laptop sitting in the car.

NNAMDIKatie DeFoe, if someone sees something suspicious at a neighbor's house when they know that the neighbor is away, they might hesitate to call police. The person could be just a friend of the neighbor. But you recommend they go ahead and call the police.

DEFOEAbsolutely. Absolutely. Our job is to answer those calls. It's a good day when we show up, and there's nothing wrong. If there's a perfectly good explanation for why there's someone there, then it's a wonderful thing.

NNAMDISo we not -- we need not be apprehensive about wasting the police's time if there's no problem there.

DEFOEAbsolutely. Absolutely not. Our job is to answer those calls. Our job is to look into the things that look out of the ordinary.

NNAMDIAnd so you're pleased when there's nothing going on.

DEFOEWe are very pleased when there's nothing out of the ordinary.

NNAMDIAngela Alsobrooks, it's my understanding that Prince George's will be stepping up police patrols. Where will those efforts be focused?

ALSOBROOKSThose efforts are focused in Hillcrest Heights, Md., Glassmanor, Suitland, Riverdale and Langley Park. And the police have selected those areas based on homicides, carjackings, non-fatal shootings and citizen robberies, numbers in those areas. And these are the five areas that they're focusing on based on that criteria.

NNAMDIAnd you're also encouraging people, it's my understanding, to participate in their neighborhood crime watch programs.

ALSOBROOKSOh, absolutely. The reason this is so important, the opportunity to even to speak here, is that we have partnered the state attorney's office, the police, all across government, the county executive. But the most important partner we have is the public. And so I'm reminding people to be ever so vigilant to call us when they see something out of the ordinary or to call us when they need assistance.

ALSOBROOKSWe're also interested in coming out at every opportunity in community groups to educate folks in the public about keeping their homes safe, about keeping their car safe. We really do need their participation.

NNAMDISpeaking of education, before we go to the phones, Samantha Nolan, if someone wants to start a neighborhood watch program in the District, how would that person go about doing it?

NOLANWell, they should -- in every district in the city, we have MPD Listservs, and we also have a district police force. They can contact any police officer, and they'll put them in touch. And I'm making presentations at all of the police districts throughout the city, so they can...

NNAMDIAnd you can find links to this at our website, kojoshow.org. So that'll make it easier to find. Now, on to the telephone. Here is Michael in Washington. Michael -- Mike, you're on the air. Go ahead, please.

MICHAELWell, this is my first year in D.C., and this is actually my first summer in D.C. And I can say that I've noticed, especially around the main forest areas and the monuments, you have a lot of loitering that occurs much more during the summer, later in the evening or getting into 8, 9 p.m., than you do during the winter. And I recently had a friend that stayed with me in D.C. He was visiting the city.

MICHAELAnd he just felt very, very uncomfortable with a lot of people that were loitering around, which made his visit very uncomfortable. And I'm wondering how that's going to impact our tourist economy. And, right now, you know, D.C. and everyone else, we're so strapped for cash, we need every dollar we can get. You know, what -- how is that going to affect us on the economic side, not just the crime side?

NNAMDIWell, perception is everything. And if there is a perception that there is a great deal of crime actually occurring, then people will be more concerned than ever about loitering. But it is my understanding, Samantha Nolan, that we do not have an anti-loitering law in D.C.

NOLANWe do not.

NNAMDII do remember an occasion when we attempted to pass an anti-loitering law, but it was not successful. And we haven't been able to do it since.

NOLANThat's right. They're working on another program like that, but those types of laws have been struck down in many, many jurisdictions. I don't know if PG has a law or not.

NNAMDIWell, I think there's a very thin line when we talk about civil liberties between loitering and people having the right to simply be on the street when they choose to if they are not actively committing any crimes. It's always difficult to get that kind of law passed. But, Mike, I would advise you and any visitors you have to take note of some of the safety tips we've been offering.

NNAMDIIf your friend is visiting from Washington, he should not be out late at night, walking alone where there are people loitering.

MIKENo, absolutely. And I agree, and I think you're right. It's a very, very fine line because D.C. is the one place where people can get together, and they can gather. They can protest, and they can be heard. Yet there at least has to be some sort of improvement, maybe an increase police presence or something that can really keep a lot of the people that are loitering, that are looking to, you know, commit assaults or commit crimes, to minimize that fear in the tourists, to minimize that fear in the citizens that live in the city.

NNAMDIWell, I know that the D.C. -- that the police department in the District of Columbia does have, also, increased patrols during the summer. And when we have Chief Cathy Lanier on, we'll talk at greater length about that. But thank you for your call, Mike. Here is Chris in Pentagon City. Chris, you're on the air. Go ahead, please.

CHRISHi, Kojo, I had lived in London for close to four years while I was attending university. And the United Kingdom is a place that has a lot of issues with anti-social behavior. And I was wondering if there had been any sort of collaborative efforts or anything along those lines, maybe studying how the United Kingdom has dealt with these issues on both assaults and robberies and just general loitering, maybe a lesson could be learned from the (unintelligible)...

NNAMDIWell, we do know one lesson that's been taken from London is the presence of surveillance cameras in just about every public place you can find. And that's slowly becoming more of a reality here in the District of Columbia. But it is, of course, being met with some protests by people who feel that we are losing all sense of privacy. I'm not aware of any other initiatives based on things that were occurring in the U.K. that are taking place here.

NNAMDIBut, again, that's a question we'll ask the police chief at a later date. We got an email from Dennis who says -- and Chris, thank you for your call -- "How does the statement, to avoid becoming a robbery victim, don't walk alone in certain areas in the early morning hours, differ from the statement, to avoid becoming a rape victim, women should not dress in revealing or provocative clothes?"

NNAMDII would suggest that the latter of those two statements -- and our other guests are free to respond -- that the latter of those two statements, to avoid becoming a victim, women should not dress in revealing or provocative clothes, is a slur against women. And, frankly, as you have been seeing, there have been demonstrations by women who have been protesting the actions of people who claim that their actions are based on the way that women are dressed.

NNAMDII think that talking about walking alone in certain areas in the early morning hours is a virtual, universal safety mechanism that has been in effect for centuries, I would say, because we do know that criminals tend to lurk in lonely places. And so if you want not to become a victim of crime, then you want to avoid those places. But I don't know if anybody else has a comment on that.

DEFOEActually...

NNAMDIPlease do, Katie DeFoe.

DEFOEAnd it's not just walking alone. It's the thing of taking the opportunity out of the equation. The more people you have -- if you have, you know, one kind of person who's lurking and you have a group of three or four, it's less appealing for that group of three or four for one person. So, you know, it's kind of even playing field if you have one person lurking and an individual walking alone.

DEFOEIf you have two people walking alone, maybe that person who's lurking doesn't, you know, maybe thinks twice about what -- you know, putting that opportunity into the equation.

NNAMDIAngela Alsobrooks, there have been several incidents on bike and running trails in parks in the region, including here in the District, Taser attacks on bikers and joggers. What's happening in Prince George's County to address that?

ALSOBROOKSWe don't have quite as many parks and trails, but what we do have is a heavier presence, especially during the summer months, with our police department. As well, we have, in my office, community prosecutors who have teamed up with neighborhoods. We've done a number of community walks, and we have citizen groups that walk in the evenings in various areas and provide a presence and provide some security that way.

ALSOBROOKSBut our officers have actually stepped up efforts in -- and especially in the five focus areas that we're talking about. And they'll -- and we'll notice a heavier presence to provide protection in some of the areas, such as the ones you're talking about.

NNAMDIKatie, has Fairfax County has incidents like that on parks and trails?

DEFOEWe do. It's one of those, you know, weather is nice, everyone is outside. All eight stations have a bike team, which is officers that are trained on pedal bicycles that go out. They can go places that cars can't. They can ride those trails. They can be more of a presence and seen. They have uniforms. They are marked bikes. They go out in those areas, specifically to address things on trails and places, where, obviously, cars cannot patrol.

NNAMDIWhat tips do you recommend to keep people safe when they're out jogging or biking on trails and parks?

DEFOENumber one, carry a cell phone and have that cell phone turned on. Also, if you're going to listen to headphones, make sure that you can still hear things that are going on around you and paying attention to your surroundings.

NOLANI have additional tips.

NNAMDIPlease do.

NOLANWe've started forming walking groups that meet either in the morning, afternoon or evening. And we found that when people run or walk together, they're a lot safer than if they walk alone. We'd like to encourage people to form walking groups for their neighborhoods.

NOLANWe also ask that you not wear a cell phone while you're out walking for two reasons. One, you can't hear what's going on in your surrounding, and, two, anything with a cord is considered an item of interest. And if they see it, they all want it. So you're less likely to be bothered if you're not carrying a cell phone or an electronic device.

NNAMDIWell, if you are carrying a cell phone or electronic device, as Katie DeFoe recommends, so that you can make that 911 call in the event of an emergency, you are saying, do not carry it openly so that it is visible.

NOLANNot visible, yes. Keep it in a -- keep it your pocket. If they don't know you have it, they don't need to see that they want it.

NNAMDIBut there are a lot of runners and joggers who like to run to the rhythm of music, so they have their iPods and their electronic devices in their ears. I think that's -- it's going to be a very difficult to stop -- for people to stop doing that because it has become an integral part of their whole training. Is it...

NOLANWell, then we're asking them to jog or run in groups.

NNAMDIOr to try to conceal it as much as humanly possible.

NOLANRight. And only wear one earbud, not to wear both, so that you can hear what's going on around you.

NNAMDISome residents feel that the police aren't doing enough and that neighborhood watch cannot take the place of policing. It's my understanding also, Angela Alsobrooks, that Prince George's is focusing on something called wrap-around services. What are those?

ALSOBROOKSThe wrap-around services that we're talking about include Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning. As you indicated, there are a number of young people who are out of school in the summer and need things to do. Park and Planning has been really great about opening gymnasiums later at night, creating basketball late into the evening and other activities that would help us to keep them occupied.

ALSOBROOKSAnd so when we talk about wrap-around services, we talk about Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning. We've brought in, as well, health services through our health officer to provide services to families who need them. And so these services are intended to, as we say, raise up families as we protect the neighborhood.

NNAMDIYou also have another program that's a plan that's going to put offenders back on the streets, but not in the way that people might expect.

ALSOBROOKSTo put offenders -- well, actually, one of things that we're doing is to...

NNAMDIThe low security inmates, I should say, cleaning up streets in problem public areas is my understanding.

ALSOBROOKSYes. As we talk about raising neighborhoods, we are going to work, as well, to have some of our non-violent offenders help us in planting trees and to participate in other activities designed to clean up neighborhoods. And so in these areas that we're focusing on declining crime, we're also involving some of our prison -- some of the ex-offenders as well as some of the current inmates to clean up areas to actually participate in neighborhood clean-ups.

NNAMDIKatie DeFoe, one issue in summer is abandoned properties. How do you keep those from becoming magnets for drug dealers and other criminal activity?

DEFOEWe have in place in the county a team that actually looks at that, that combines the zoning and the police and different things that -- it's kind of a one-stop shop. If we know there's a problem, we know where to go to get that taken care of. There are, you know, the zoning rules that say that you, you know, your grass can't be a certain height, things like that. So that's all enforceable.

DEFOEWith patrol, we have neighborhood watch calls in. If there is an issue with a house, doesn't necessarily have to be abandoned. Sometimes they are people that cannot take care of properties, things like that. So it's kind of an all-encompassing -- it's kind of an all-encompassing...

NNAMDIPlan that you have.

DEFOEYes. It covers a lot of things with one phone call.

NNAMDIAnd, finally, this email from Matt, "I recently had my dog stolen from outside of a store where he was tied up. Fortunately, the police were able to find him and arrest the thief. But I am now much more aware of this problem. We've had a significant rise in crimes recently in my neighborhood, Eckington, but I didn't think a dog would be target -- a target for theft."

NNAMDISamantha Nolan, any experience with dogs outside of, you know, people tie up their dogs when they go into a commercial establishment, assuming that the dog is going to be safe.

NOLANAbout 10 years ago, we had something like 300 dogs stolen from the Washington area. But that problem, I've not heard of it recently as being a big problem. I think whatever program that was, was shut down.

NNAMDIHopefully, Matt, that was an isolated incident, and we don't have a dognapping crew at large here in the Washington area.

NOLANWe do encourage that everyone have their pet microchipped, though, so that if they are taken or recovered that we can identify the owner quickly.

NNAMDISamantha Nolan is a Neighborhood Watch trainer and an at-large member of the Chief's Citizen Advisory Council in the District of Columbia. Samantha, thank you for joining us.

NOLANThank you so much.

NNAMDIKatie DeFoe is the crime prevention officer for Reston District in Fairfax County. Katie DeFoe, thank you for joining us.

DEFOEThank you.

NNAMDIAnd Angela Alsobrooks is Maryland State's Attorney for Prince George's County. Angela Alsobrooks, thank you for joining us.

ALSOBROOKSThank you so much for having me.

NNAMDIWe're going to take a short break. When we come back, it's your turn, whatever's on your mind, whether you want to talk about if you haven't had the opportunity to give your opinion about the conduct of New York Congressman Anthony Weiner, if you'd like to talk about an exit strategy for Afghanistan, whether or not Muammar Qaddafi is a target in Libya or anything else on your mind, now is the time to start calling, 800-433-8850.

NNAMDIOr send email to kojo@wamu.org. I'm Kojo Nnamdi.