Annapolis MD July 10 2022

The Downtown Annapolis Partnership announced Thursday it received a $90,000 Community Safety Works grant paid for through a police funding initiative by Gov. Larry Hogan.

Instead of hiring police officers, however, the money will be used to hire “safety ambassadors” who work for a private security company, said Erik Evans, executive director of the Downtown Partnership.

He applied for the money after meeting with representatives from the city and the Annapolis Police Department and receiving their blessing. The safety ambassadors will patrol in areas frequented by shoppers, diners and tourists.

“This was the best way to help improve safety downtown,” Evans said.

When asking politely for people to stop cutting across his yard didn’t work, Thomas began hatching a master plan that no one saw coming.

A union spokesperson for the Annapolis Police Department was ill and unable to comment. Mayor Gavin Buckley, who owns multiple restaurants downtown, also did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the public information officer for the police department.

Evans acknowledged that the challenge facing city businesses is partially one of perception; people hear about crime and hesitate to come downtown, even if the incidents took place away from West Street, Main Street and City Dock.

“People sometimes lump the whole city together,” Evans said.

The security guards will not work around the clock and they will not be armed, Evans said, but “one or two” at a time will likely be on duty during the day within a few weeks. He declined to name the security company, but said the Downtown Partnership is close to signing a contract with a firm that will keep guards on the street through the end of the year.

In addition to calling the police if necessary, the guards will offer directions to everything from parking garages to Irish pubs, Evans said. They can also notify the city’s public works department if they notice safety hazards like broken bricks.

“They’ll help people feel safer and be safer,” Evans said.

The grant funding will also be used to upgrade Wiseman Park, a so-called “pocket park” on the first block of West Street. Evans said the Downtown Partnership plans to meet with adjoining property owners, the Annapolis Recreation and Parks Department and other city staffers later this month to discuss possible improvements, including new benches, additional lighting and security cameras.

Nonprofit organizations that support business districts were eligible to apply for up to $100,000 in state funding.

According to the state Department of Housing and Community Development, the money can be used for “community-related/business district-related safety improvements that implement the business district’s plan for making public and private spaces safer and more defensible.”

Other business districts across the state that received Community Safety Works grants include Hamilton-Lauraville Main Street in Baltimore City, and the Downtown Frederick Partnership, which plans to add lighting along an alley that leads to a parking garage.

“We are empowering local organizations and residents to take an active role in making their communities safer,” Hogan said in a statement announcing the grants.

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