The Baltimore metropolitan area experienced a nearly 11 percent increase in robberies in 2006, according to newly released data from the Maryland State Police.
Robberies in Anne Arundel County increased by 9 percent over the previous year; Baltimore County by 19 percent; Baltimore City by 8 percent; Carroll County by 55 percent; Harford County by 5 percent and Howard County by 6 percent.
“We?ve had an increase in robberies over the past few years,” said Anne Arundel County police spokesman Lt. David Waltemeyer. “Usually the same person or a group of people commits a large part of the robberies.”
But as quickly as robberies rose last year, they?ve begun to decline, thanks to stepped-up efforts of police, various departments said.
In 2007, Baltimore County has seen a dip of about 30 percent, according to preliminary data, according to police spokesman Bill Toohey.
“One of the major things we did was watch the robbery trends and make sure we had patrols in those areas that had them,” Toohey said. “We arrested the people and put them in jail.”
Similarly, Howard County police are seeing a five-year low in robberies in 2007 ? only 46 through the year?s first three months ? spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn said.
“We?ve conducted task force operations and we think we?re sending a message that robberies and other violent crimes are not tolerated in the county,” she said.
Baltimore City police are seeing a 17 percent decrease in robberies, according to Comstat data.
“We?re focusing on areas where we have the most problems,” said Baltimore City police spokesman Matt Jablow. “We?re targeting people who we feel are responsible for a large number of crimes. That?s exactly why we have Comstat to be able to respond quickly to patterns and trends and redeploy our officers accordingly to put an end to it.”
The Maryland State Police Uniform Crime Report for 2006 also shows a 4.8 percent increase in murders in the Baltimore metropolitan area, a 5.1 percent increase in breaking and entering, and a 6.6 percent increase in motor vehicle thefts.
Rapes declined in the area by 6 percent, aggravated assaults by 8.2 percent, thefts by 1.9 percent and arson by 1 percent, the report states.
