With a population well over 90,000 and components such as motor vehicle traffic and businesses growing, Calvert County has a need for a higher police presence. With the aid of county government and the receptiveness of two commercial property owners, the jurisdiction’s primary law enforcement agency now has an expanded presence.
On Tuesday afternoon, county officials marked the establishment of two sheriff’s office substations — in Dunkirk and Lusby.
“We are going to have to start preparing for the future,” Sheriff Ricky Cox (R) said during remarks at the opening of the Dunkirk substation. “I think it’s very historic to be in this building.”
The single-story structure on the southbound side of Route 4 near its intersection with Ferry Landing Road was previously a Sun Trust bank branch.
Jeff Burroughs, the owner of the building, told Southern Maryland News he felt having the sheriff’s office locate its Dunkirk substation in the standalone building providing approximately 1,800-square feet of space to the deputies working there was a bigger priority than his Rita’s franchise.
“We can find another location for it,” Burroughs said of the frozen custard shop.
Cox said the Dunkirk substation will have “a big sheriff’s sign” that should serve as an advisory to miscreants who wander into the northern portion of Calvert thinking they can victimize a sleepy rural community.
“We’re going to get you,” Commissioner Catherine Grasso (R) said was the message many intoxicated motorists and would-be thieves are starting to get before they travel through Calvert.
Cox said Grasso’s recollection of Dunkirk once being a very safe community but now one that is vulnerable to crime made him determined to find a location for an agency office.
One of the officers assigned to the Dunkirk substation, Sgt. Eric Basham, said he and his fellow deputies have already started contacting Dunkirk area businesses to let them know about their presence.
“The community has been very receptive,” Basham said.
The law enforcement presence for Lusby was also welcomed Tuesday afternoon.
“We need this down here,” Commissioner Mike Hart (R), a Lusby resident and business owner, said.
The building on H.G. Trueman Road was also a bank at one time. It is in the heart of the town’s retail commercial properties.
Cox said a few miles north of the new substation is a road marker honoring the memory of Billy Lusby, who died in the line of duty during the early 1970s while serving as Calvert’s sheriff.
There is some consideration being made, Cox said, to dedicating the south county area’s new substation in Sheriff Lusby’s honor.
According to sheriff’s office officials, the two substations are not quite fully operational.
“Dunkirk is a little farther along than Lusby,” Calvert sheriff’s office Capt. David Canning told Southern Maryland News.
The Lusby building, owned by local businessman John Gott Jr., is ready to be occupied but has not been equipped with internet.
According to Lt. Brian Bowen, the vehicles of all the deputies assigned to the Lusby substation are equipped with substantial technology.
Bowen said 18 deputies each are assigned to the substations and the agency’s central location in Prince Frederick.
“The driving forces behind the realignment are improved efficiency and accountability of the department and an increase in services to the public,” Assistant Sheriff Col. David Payne said in a memo to the county commissioners. “The addition of physical office space for districts one and three is necessary for daily operations. Long-term leases and building renovations have been secured and performed at the respective locations.”
While the buildings provide an increased presence, neither substation will be open 24/7, sheriff’s office officials said. However, there will be monitored surveillance and security cameras at the sites.
Bowen said eventually the sheriff’s office plans to assign at least one civilian employee at each location.
The agreement for the Dunkirk substation requires the sheriff’s office to pay a monthly rent of $6,300 to Burroughs’ Ice Vault LLC. According to lease documents, the yearly rent will increase 2% each year.
The agreement for the Lusby substation requires the sheriff’s office to pay Gott’s Lusby Town Center LLC $50,000 a year for rent. The yearly rent will increase 3% each year.
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