Richard Snow opened his new Ben & Jerry?s kiosk outside the Maryland Science Center at the Inner Harbor last month.
Two weeks later, his shop?s door and windows were smashed during a break-in and attempted burglary.
The message, Snow said, was clear: Welcome to Baltimore.
“Doing business in the Inner Harbor is still terrific,” said Snow, 43, of Arnold. “But we really can?t let stuff like this go on. We never dreamed we would get broken into right in the Inner Harbor.”
Snow and the shop?s manager, Robert O?Connor, 38, of Baltimore, say they are concerned there are not enough police patrols to protect businesses during night hours at the harbor. Their kiosk was vandalized between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. on July 26.
“There?s one person who patrols the entire harbor ? Maryland?s No. 1 tourist attraction ?- the entire night,” O?Connor said. “That?s a large area to cover, and if he stops for a cup of coffee, there?s no one patrolling.”
Baltimore police spokesman Sterling Clifford said it?s true that the department focuses more patrols on the harbor during daytime and evening hours, rather than overnight.
“There are 13 officers patrolling the Inner Harbor on the day shift, 10 working the evening shift and one patrolling overnight,” he said. “Obviously the safety of Inner Harbor guests is a high priority for the police. There is a significant police presence during peak hours.”
Clifford said there are also police cruisers who patrol the area.
“The officers are there when people are there,” he said. “The distribution of resources is done to keep people safe, and that?s what the priority is.”
