BULLETS KEEP FLYING

PRINCE GEORGE'S County Police Chief Melvin C. High may think he's
doing a grand job of fighting crime -- that's what he keeps saying --
but the evidence isn't there. It's grimly official now: The shooting
of a man in Riverdale Park on Nov. 21 raised the number of homicides
in the county this year to a record 155, topping the 1991 total of 154
killings. As of yesterday evening, the total had risen to 159. As the
surge of violence continues, the reassurances of Chief High that his
battle plan will deliver better days are neither comforting nor believable.

When people are being slain at the rate of about one every other day,
it becomes increasingly clear that something in Chief High's
crime-fighting strategy -- trumpeted last year as the way to get a
grip on the problem -- is amiss. The moves he announced at the time
seemed good. The emphasis was to be on community-oriented policing;
putting officers in closer contact with residents; and targeting
guns, drugs and gangs for special attention. The chief notes that 82
percent of the homicides involve guns, and 67 percent of the
incidents are drug-related.

At least now Chief High has stopped blaming the rank-and-file
officers, as he did over the summer. He and County Executive Jack B.
Johnson (D) have yet to hold themselves accountable for any failings,
and calling members of the force slackers hardly boosted morale. Years
of severe understaffing take their toll; community policing is not
effective if the districts to be patrolled are huge and response times
are slow. Detectives, who handle the county's most serious crimes, are
professionals, but some of the most experienced have been leaving as
murders, carjackings and rapes increase.

Mr. Johnson is belatedly seeking to hire more officers, but
competition is stiff and the violence in Prince George's is less than
alluring. Percy Alston, president of Prince George's Fraternal Order
of Police Lodge 89, told The Post's Allison Klein recently that
despite a stepped-up recruiting campaign, the department has about
1,300 sworn officers, which is more than 100 below the authorized strength.

Is there a sense of urgency? Attributing the soaring violence to
population shifts, increased drug abuse and the growth of gangs may
explain some of the law enforcement problems, but it doesn't fix them.
Chief High is right in urging residents to explore why people are
involved in drugs and why kids are joining gangs; the police alone
cannot solve these problems. But the chief's apparent satisfaction
with his plans -- and Mr. Johnson's apparent satisfaction with the
chief -- are not reassuring.

"Next year, 2006, will be a better year," Chief High announced on Nov.
17. "I'm putting myself on the line for that. It takes a while for
these things to come to fruition, but they are working." Prince
George's is still experiencing signs of vitality, economic development
and attractive, stable new neighborhoods. The good life in the county
must not be jeopardized by seemingly unbridled violence. Prince
George's needs and deserves a happier new year.