By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

The Ocean Pines Association’s police force is looking to advance safety efforts, association officials said last month, and last Saturday OPA Police Chief Tim Robinson updated the board of directors on the priorities he and his staff will pursue heading into 2025.

Topping the list are adding new signs, obtaining protective equipment, and enforcement, the chief said.

Robinson noted that an initiative he is most proud of is his collaborative effort with the Worcester County Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition to write a funding application for the Share the Road Ocean Pines Grant through the Maryland Highway Safety Office. The financial assistance will help pay for measures such reflector bands, small blinking lights, bicycle lights, and educational materials to protect vulnerable road users.

Speed cameras have also been installed around the community to help the police understand the patterns and volume of speeding and how to respond accordingly. According to Robinson, the devices capture how fast a car is traveling before the driver has time to reduce speed.

“When you see [the camera], it has already caught you, and it gives me a detailed report of what is going on,” the chief said.

As for the new signs the department intends to install throughout Ocean Pines, Robinson said they may include warnings to drivers to reduce their speed as they approach curves and indicators reminding motor vehicle operators that cyclists and pedestrians also use the roads and that the paths are to be shared.

Robinson added that he is working with Worcester County’s public works to obtain feedback on the signs’ message.

Robinson also updated board members and residents about the department’s other recent activities. The chief said that since November, the Ocean Pines police have handled one online harassment case, a few minor vandalism incidents, and two domestic assault arrests, which Robinson said is the “number one” most common type of arrest in Ocean Pines, trespassing, and an assault on an officer. The force has also facilitated 11 welfare checks.

Additionally, there was a case in which a few juveniles caused “significant damages” at a restroom at the community golf course. Robinson said that the offenders were caught and will be held accountable for the harm that occurred.

To continue bolstering the safety of officers, police will now be armed with Tasers, he told the board. According to Robinson, law enforcement departments began implementing the devices approximately 15 years ago. OPA is just now catching up. He said it will be costly to equip the force with the electronic devices, around $60,000, but the program will be fully funded via a $63,371 grant from the state of Maryland.

“[Tasers] are a wonderful intermediary tool to prevent from having to resort to deadly force,” Robinson said. “We don’t have them here, and it is something that I think we desperately need as an option in our toolbox.”

The chief added that since he stepped into his current position in the summer of 2023, he has secured around $150,000 in grant money for the law enforcement group’s needs and wants, including $35,000 for the first year of a body camera contract.

“I am very pleased that that money is out there and that we are able to steer it here to the Ocean Pines Police Department,” Robinson said.