If you ask most local residents what are their top community issues of concerns, a good number will tell you that crime is on the list. There’s good news. The Baltimore County Police Department reported an overall decrease in virtually every category of serious crime last year, when comparing 2013 against a previous five-year average.
In the northwest, crime also declined in most categories, but the precincts saw increases in the rape and theft categories last year. In Woodlawn precinct 2, Franklin precinct 3 and Pikesville precinct 4, the most serious “part 1” crimes — homicide, aggravated assault, violent crimes, burglaries, theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, property crimes — declined 6.8 percent, 9.2 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively. There was a rise in incidences of crime in a few categories. Murders doubled to two, the number of rapes rose 70 percent to 17, and there were seven more thefts in precinct 3. Thefts in precinct 4 rose by three.
Some of the highlights of the county’s 2013 crime statistics:
- Total crime fell by 5.2 percent against previous five-year average.
- Part I violent crime, the most serious violent crime, fell by 5.5 percent against the previous five-year average.
- The number of homicides in 2013 dropped by seven cases — a nearly 26 percent drop — when compared to the previous five-year average.
- Rapes fell by 19 cases and aggravated assaults by 258 cases.
Part 2 crimes—fraud, buying and receiving stolen property, sex offenses, prostitution, drug abuse violations, carrying and possessing weapons, vandalism, embezzlement, and forgery and counterfeiting—declined across the county and in the northwest.
The total number of adults and juveniles arrested fell by 1,457 to 27,982 from 2012 to 2013. However, the number of people arrested for violent crimes jumped by 145 to 2,087, with the robbery category seeing the most significant rise, and juvenile arrests accounting for the increase.
The county’s crime statistics are compiled in accordance with the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Baltimore County Police Chief James Johnson said in a July 15 statement that the department has continued to “drive down crime with the use of technology, partnerships with the community and old-fashioned police work.” He gave credit to the quality of the county’s police personnel and the soundness of its law enforcement strategies, which involve identifying and analyzing trends, and directing resources to the problem.
View the complete crime statistics at baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/police/crime/crime2013.html.
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