The Calvert County Sheriff’s Office began using a new model for law enforcement this month, focusing its patrol units on areas in the county that have statistically proven to be high crime and traffic accident areas.

The sheriff’s office is using the deputies it has without increasing staffing to reduce traffic violations, breaking and entering, and thefts through the use of aggressive enforcement in areas that have shown to be problem areas, said Sheriff Mike Evans (R).

“We are hoping to reduce the numbers [of crimes],” he said.

The method for deploying deputies, called Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety, analyzes crime and traffic data, such as crashes and charges of driving under the influence, for one year and then looks at the overlap in the data scientifically, which decides the areas that need focused enforcement, Lt. Dave McDowell, commander of the patrol bureau, said at the Chesapeake Beach Town Hall meeting last month. McDowell showed a county map to the residents, which showed that the data-driven “Focused Enforcement Areas” (FEAs) were the Twin Beaches, Lusby and Prince Frederick.

McDowell said, when using the total traffic stop, which has deputies looking for signs of other criminal violations such as the use of drugs when stopping a vehicle for traffic violations, deputies can find contraband with consent to search or find criminals on outstanding warrants.

“We’re going to reduce the criminal element,” McDowell said, adding criminals will not want to be in a focused area and will be pushed around and eventually want to leave.

McDowell, who said that community partnering was part of the DDACTS model, asked those present to partner with the sheriff’s office to decrease crime and, in turn, increase their quality of life.

“We need your eyes and ears,” he said, suggesting they get involved with Neighborhood Watch.

While they will be focusing on the three identified areas, both Evans and McDowell said that other areas of the county will not be neglected and DDACTS will make a difference in the whole county.

According to a sheriff’s office press release, Evans sent his command staff to learn about the DDACTS. The seven guiding principles of DDACTS are partners and stakeholders’ participation, data collection, data analysis, strategic operations, information sharing and outreach, monitoring evaluation and adjustment, and outcomes. The action plan begins with the capture and analysis of data on the most serious crimes along with DUI arrests, and reportable motor vehicle crashes to include fatalities over a one-year period, which the sheriff’s office did using data from March 2010 through March 2011. No additional funding is required to implement DDACTS strategy and patrol. Patrol Bureau personnel will be supported by specialized units such as canine, special operations and Community Action Teams, the release states.

DDACTS is a philosophy, not a program that ends, said McDowell, who attended a DDACTS workshop along with Lt. Steve Jones and Lt. Bobby Jones. Afterward, they briefed Evans and Assistant Sheriff Lt. Col. Thomas Hejl. The workshop is conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and was funded through the Maryland Chiefs of Police and Sheriffs’ Associations by the Maryland Highway Safety Office and hosted by the Ocean City Police Department.

Evans said the sheriff’s office is reaching out to communities, agencies and neighborhoods and will be hosting several town hall meetings throughout the county to educate citizens about DDACTS, solicit community support and hear concerns about their communities.

“We’re always looking for community involvement,” he said, asking the public to call the sheriff’s office if they see anything suspicious or unusual.

charvat@somdnews.com