Again at a community meeting tonight, and at several times over the last couple of years, prominent law enforcement officials have told me that it is well-known among criminals that it is far more preferable and less risky to commit crime here in Prince George’s County rather than in Virginia because sentencing here is much more lenient and offenders actually serve a significantly less percentage of their sentences here as compared with Virginia (because of Virginia’s “truth in sentencing” laws, which mandate offenders serving at least 85% of sentences for many crimes).

There is no advantage in our county being perceived as more lenient in dealing with crime than our neighbors. This cannot (and will not) continue.