Aberdeen police patrol Amtrak station to improve safety

In a continuing effort to address community concerns related to the Amtrak train station area, the Aberdeen Police Department has been conducting numerous foot patrols and enforcement initiatives to provide more visibility and to engage commuters and travelers who use the station, police said.

The location of the Amtrak station makes it a community crossroads, separating the eastern and central sectors of the city, Aberdeen Police said.

To address citizen and community concerns, officers are walking around on patrol to engage personally with riders and see first-hand the conditions at the station during their patrol shifts.

These types of patrol initiatives have led to multiple arrests and criminal citations issued to those in violation of laws.

The following is a collection of statistics Aberdeen Police said are the calls for service at the Amtrak train station over the past 12 months: patrol checks conducted, 1,272; vandalism reported, three; thefts reported, 11; trespassing reported, seven; disorderly conduct reported, eight; suspicious circumstances reported, 46; illegal drug violations, five; and fugitive arrests, six.

Ground transportation services operated by the Harford County Government make frequent stops at the station, which attracts people to Aberdeen from all over the county.

Hundreds of people gather at various times of day on the Amtrak property, most particularly in the early morning and evening hours, when commuters are traveling to and from their places of employment.

Recently, the police department has conducted covert operations to identify a group of individuals selling illegal drugs around the pedestrian footbridge that adjoins the property.

Those efforts will continue and serve as notice to those engaged in such activity that those behaviors will not be tolerated.

To address concerns about bikes stolen from around the station, officers conducted a detail during which officers set up a decoy bicycle and arrested two men who tried to steal it.

These operations will continue and serve as notice that Aberdeen Police take these crimes seriously, too.

Quality of life concerns such as public drinking and loitering also have been identified as a point of public concern.