Police Activity Decreases in Ocean City

OCEAN CITY – A decrease in police activity highlighted a report in this week’s meeting of the Ocean City Police Commission.

Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) Chief Ross Buzzuro told commission members this week police activity declined in the month of January.

He noted the department reported a decrease in officer calls for service when compared to data from January 2020, the most recent pre-pandemic year. Service calls, he explained, decreased from 1,981 to 1,261.

“In terms of January activity, you can see a considerable decrease in officer calls for service when you look at 2020 versus 2022 …,” he said. “That’s a drop-off of 720 calls for service.”

Buzzuro told commission members citizen calls for service also decreased from 2,530 in 2020 to 1,761 in 2022.

“Citizen calls for service dropped by about 10%,” he said.

In the top 25 calls for service, traffic stops decreased from 411 to 360, 911 hang-ups decreased from 79 to 63 and suspicious activity decreased from 71 to 53.

“In the top 25 calls for service, there’s nothing glaring,” Buzzuro said. “But I can tell you that in the top 10 calls for service, most of those line items experienced a decrease.”

Under January enforcement, drug arrests decreased from 14 in 2020 to six in 2022, DUI arrests increased from 14 to 25 and weapons arrests increased from one to 11.

“Those two last line items, DUI arrests and weapons arrests, are obviously indicators of our proactive enforcement efforts that continue,” Buzzuro told commission members this week.

The police chief on Monday also highlighted the department’s year-end report for 2021.

“When we get into 2022, 2021 becomes a thing of the past,” he said. “That’s probably as it should be, but we obviously will be showcasing our efforts in what occurred in 2021 from a police department standpoint.”

Buzzuro explained the annual report, which details the department’s achievements in 2021, would be presented to the full Mayor and Council at an upcoming meeting.

“We’re finishing up and ready to present,” he said. “There’s a lot of information in this annual report … It truly showcases our efforts and shows once again we’re back in a situation where we need to be moving in 2022.”

Councilman Peter Buas questioned if the report included the town’s efforts to control noise pollution on the Boardwalk. Buzzuro said it didn’t.

“I don’t think it is,” he said. “We have a lot of statistical information, but we can certainly add it. There’s certainly time to put it in there.”

Buzzuro said a completed report would be available to the Mayor and Council, and posted online, in the coming weeks.

“It’s been a team effort,” he added.

About The Author: Bethany Hooper

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Bethany Hooper has been with The Dispatch since 2016. She currently covers various general stories. Hooper graduated from Stephen Decatur High School in 2012 and the University of Maryland in 2016, where she completed double majors in journalism and economics.