Community involvement is essential to preventing and fighting crime. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to working with communities in Maryland on initiatives related to enforcement, prevention, and assisting victims and witnesses. We can assist local communities and groups in identifying federal and state grant resources; provide guest speakers on a wide variety of public safety issues; and help connect individuals and groups to public and private services to assist and protect their communities. For information on any of our community outreach programs, or for questions, please contact: Vince DeVivo, Community Outreach Specialist, at 410-209-4832 or Vincent.DeVivo@usdoj.gov
Safety Presentations
In an effort to partner with parents, teachers and school administrators to keep children safe, the U.S. Attorney’s Office offers two free media presentations, available for your community, PTA, school faculty, or professional development meetings.
Children now spend more time than ever connected to the internet, and online access comes with many risks. Instant messaging, chat rooms, and social networking sites and apps can invite trouble, from inappropriate content to cyberbullying and online predators. While our kids are tech savvy, they have little knowledge about protecting themselves online, and predators know it. Learning how to become critical consumers of the internet is essential for all of us.
- Innocence Stolen: Protecting Our Children provides information to keep children safe on the internet. The presentation informs adults about how to protect young people from negative and criminal influences online. Topics include social networking, cyber bullying, sexting, and internet predators. The program provides prevention and intervention strategies and internet safety resources.
Additional internet safety resources:
FBI Safe Online Surfing (SOS) Program
https://www.fbi.gov/about/community-outreach/safe-online-surfing-sos-program
NetSmartz – National Center for Missing and Exploited Children online safety education program
https://www.missingkids.org/netsmartz/home
Youth get involved in gangs for different reasons. Some get “pulled” into a gang because they think they will earn money or status, or out of motivation to display family, neighborhood, or cultural pride. Others get “pushed” into a gang out of fear for their safety, believing gang membership will provide protection from neighborhood crime and violence. While many children won’t join gangs, they are influenced and inspired by the positive portrayals of gang life frequently depicted in entertainment media.
- Gang Culture and Our Children: How You Can Make a Difference examines the impact gang culture is having on our children. The program focuses on the negative influences that traditional, nontraditional and hybrid gangs have on our youth. It is designed by a certified Maryland Police and Training Commissions instructor and Gang Awareness trainer and meets training mandates of the Maryland Safe Schools Act.
Save A Life - Opioid Abuse
Opioids are a class of drugs that includes heroin, as well as powerful pain relievers such as oxycodone (Oxycontin), hydrocodone (Vicodin), fentanyl, methadone, and many others. Overdose injuries and deaths are increasing dramatically in all communities across Maryland. Help is available. For more information on opioid abuse and where you can find help, click on the following link:
Fraud, Scams, and Identity Theft
Consumer fraud and scams target your money, property, or other assets, and can reach you through the phone, mail, e-mail, or over the internet. They can occur in person, at home, or at a business. Identity theft is a type of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person's personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain.
Information on common frauds and scams available at the following links:
https://www.usa.gov/common-scams-frauds
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/features/scam-alerts
Identity theft PSAs are also available to promote awareness of health care, senior and child identity theft, and to offer tips to protect yourself and others against identity theft. These PSAs can be viewed or downloaded using the following links:
http://www.justice.gov/usao/video/health-care-identity-theft-public-service-announcement
http://www.justice.gov/usao/video/senior-identity-theft-public-service-announcement
http://www.justice.gov/usao/video/child-identity-theft-public-service-announcement
Reentry Resources
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland recognizes the importance of assisting offenders with successful reentry back into the community. The primary focus of our reentry efforts is to remove or reduce barriers to successful reentry, so that motivated individuals can compete for a job, attain stable housing, support their families, and contribute to their communities.
For more information on available reentry resources in your community, click here: