Politics & Government

Prostitution, Gang Activity Could be Added to County Nuisance Laws

By Michael Theis

The Prince George's County Council is considering revisions to the county's existing nuisance law, enacted in 1993 with a primary focus on drug trafficking, to cover a broader range of crimes to include prostitution, human trafficking and other organized crime activities. 

"We still have…too much of these quality of life type crimes, and it affects our ability to attract high quality economic development to these areas," said Council Member Mel Franklin (D-District 9) in an interview. "A lot of these are types of crimes that are difficult for the police to get at because these are the types of crimes that normal patrols would not necessarily reveal. Prostitution behind closed doors, you're not going to see it from the street."

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The revised nuisance law, currently under consideration by the county council's Public Safety and Fiscal Management Committee, would also apply to residences. The original 1993 law only applied to commercial properties. 

The revised law prohibits property owners and residents from allowing a property to be used for criminal drug, prostitution, human trafficking or gang activities, either directly or indirectly. 

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"This allows us to not just hold the person committing the crime accountable, this allows us to hold the property owner accountable as well and get them involved," said Franklin. 

The County Attorney has the power to initiate a hearing with the Nuisance Abatement Board over violations of the law. The property owner has the right to defend themselves, but cannot expect to successfully dismiss the hearing on the grounds that the owner was unaware of the nuisance.

If the board finds that a nuisance exists on the property, it can order the property owner to make changes in an effort to resolve the issue. 

In extreme cases, where the property owners have refused to take steps to abate the nuisance, the county has the authority to condemn the property for up to a year, according to Franklin. 

The bill has wide support among the county council so far. All seven members of the county council have signed on as co-sponsors. 


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