Crime drops in downtown Silver Spring, but youth crime remains a concern, police say - WTOP News (2025)

Downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, saw a jump in violent crime in 2022 and 2023, sparking concerns from businesses and residents alike.

But in the past year, Montgomery County police said, overall crime in that area dropped by 7.6%.

“Our violent crime is really headed in the right direction,” said Montgomery County Police 3rd District Cmdr. Jason Cokinos.

He noted that in the first quarter of 2025, robbery was down 30% compared to the same time last year. Cokinos also said there were no “contact shootings” — shootings that injure or kill someone — and no homicides in downtown Silver Spring.

Data released last month, which compared statistics from 2023 to the same time in 2024, showed a 68% drop in the number of carjackings, from 19 to six.

The same data showed robbery and homicide numbers dropped by 24% and 25%, respectively.

Cokinos, speaking during the weekly briefing hosted by Montgomery County Council President Kate Stewart, cited a number of factors for the drop in crime, including increased security in and around downtown parking garages, the “Drone as First Responder” program and changes to laws around late night businesses and their closing times.

Stewart said the drone program, which deploys the devices to gather information ahead of police arriving to a crime scene, adds more than just crime-fighting abilities.

“We can de-escalate situations and we’re also improving officer safety by providing them with more information before they get to a scene,” Stewart said.

Cokinos said that while there are positive signs in the crime trends in downtown Silver Spring, juvenile crime remains a serious problem.

“Our carjackings, our auto thefts, our thefts from autos, we have unreasonably high numbers of juveniles that are involved in those crimes,” Cokinos said.

He said other jurisdictions in the region, and across Maryland, have had similar issues.

But Cokinos said juvenile crime is a “complex problem.” He told reporters during the briefing with Stewart that there are some juveniles who should be detained.

“We can’t just take every kid and think that’s going to solve the problem by putting them in jail,” he added.

Asked about D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s recent announcement of the formation of a juvenile crime investigative unit, Cokinos said, “If D.C. is going to take measures to improve the juvenile crime situation, we think that will positively impact us as well,” but he added, “we also have things to do locally with our own kids.”

Referring to crime overall, Cokinos noted the positive downward trend, but added, “the job’s not done.”

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