Governor Martin O'Malley Joins County Executive Jim Smith to Announce Crime is Still Down in Baltimore County
Press Release
Today, the Baltimore County Police Department held a Press Conference to announce the crime statistics for the first half of 2010. County Executive Jim Smith announced a continued decline in crime across Baltimore County. Governor Martin O'Malley attended the event and discussed the state's role in supporting the crime fighting efforts in Baltimore County. With Baltimore County Police Chief Jim Johnson and State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger by his side, Smith proclaimed impressive drops in serious crimes including homicide, rape, robbery, and auto theft which all dropped significantly for the months of January to June of 2010 as compared to the same period in 2009.
Crime during the first half of 2010 decreased significantly compared to crime during the first half of 2009. Most impressively, of the eight serious crime categories, seven have seen significant decreases. Homicide has decreased by 44.4%, rape decreased by 19.7%, motor vehicle theft by 21.6%, robbery by 16.8%, burglary by 7.4.%, arson by 16.8% and theft by 10.2%.
Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith said, "It is particularly gratifying for me to be able to report a continued trend of decreasing crime in these challenging economic times. In a year in which many people are still grappling with the aftermath of a major recession, our Police Department has continued its steady progress in reducing crime to a 35 year low in Baltimore County."
"Protecting the public's safety is the most sacred and important priority of government at any level, " said Governor O'Malley. These significant crime reductions in Baltimore County are due to the efforts of our dedicated men and women in uniform who work every day to protect our families and children. Working together with our local partners, we can continue to make our streets safer and our neighborhoods healthier for all Marylanders."
Police Chief Jim Johnson added, "For the past three years that I have been Chief of Police, crime has steadily declined. We have continued to strive to make Baltimore County one of the safest places to live." Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger said, "The decrease in crime is due to the quality of the cases the Police Department brings to my office. Prosecutors are only as good as the cases the police bring to us."
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