Howard County to Revisit Neighborhood Watches

In the wake of the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida, allegedly at the hands of a Neighborhood Watch volunteer, officials in Howard County may be watching how their community-policing organizations are operating.

“It always bears looking at when you have any incident,” said C. Vernon Gray, administrator of the Howard County Office of Human Rights.

After Martin’s death on Feb. 26, Gray spoke with County Executive Ken Ulman and Police Chief William McMahon about the local Neighborhood Watch operations.

The incident in Florida has led to a surge of public criticism, and according to the Sun-Sentinel, the Department of Justice, FBI and Florida State Attorney’s Office are all investigating.

George Zimmerman, a Neighborhood Watch volunteer, allegedly shot Martin on Feb. 26 as the teenager was returning to his father's house from a convenience store. Read comprehensive coverage of the incident and its impact on the Sun-Sentinel’s website.

In Howard County, Neighborhood Watch programs work “pretty nicely,” Gray said. “I know on my street…people don’t go out in a vigilante fashion. If they notice anything suspicious, they will call police or notify neighbors." 

Vigilantism is one of the reasons Howard County Police Community Liaison Bonita Linkins said she does not support neighborhood “patrols,” in which residents take a more active role, patrolling neighborhoods instead of simply observing.

There are several key differences between Maryland and Florida laws, particularly Florida's “Stand Your Ground” self-defense law, which is being called into question by local lawmakers, according to the Christian Science Monitor. The law permits the use of deadly force if a person “reasonably believes” his or her life, or someone else’s life, is threatened.

Maryland has no such law, though in 2010 the state passed a measure allowing residents to defend themselves with force in their homes or places of business. 

“As far as weapons and that kind of thing, I don’t know that it’s anything that’s specifically ever talked about,” said Pat Sill, president of the Maryland Community Crime Prevention Institute, which trains law enforcement and community policing organizations.

Neither Ulman nor Sill could say whether an individual with a concealed weapons permit is allowed to carry that weapon while participating in a Neighborhood Watch program, which is not administered by the police department.

“That’s something that I want to revisit and make sure that we are square on,” Ulman said.

“If they see something suspicious they report it,” said Sill of the duty of Neighborhood Watch volunteers. “They’re not to be anything more than eyes and ears. It’s eyes and ears, simply that.”