It’s getting safer to live in Baltimore County, including for those who live in the Northwest corridor.
According to statistics released last week by the Baltimore County Police Department, violent crime was down 12.1 percent in the Pikesville precinct and 14.2 percent in the Franklin precinct in 2012, when compared with the five-year averages. However, the number of robberies reported in the Franklin precinct were 104 in 2012 compared with 85 in 2011.
At the same time, both Franklin and Pikesville precincts reported significant decreases in aggravated assaults in 2012 compared with the five-year averages. In 2012, Franklin and Pikesville reported 195 and 193 aggravated assaults, respectively, compared with averages of 235 and 218.
Overall, violent crime across the county was down 11.1 percent in 2012 against the five-year average with 4,146 incident reports compared with 2011 when 4,250 incidents were reported.
“You really need to go back to the 1970s to see crime stats this low,” Baltimore County police Chief Jim Johnson told the Baltimore Jewish Times in a recent interview. He added that the five-year averages provide a better perspective than year-to-year statistics.
“We could not be prouder of the work we are doing, but we know there is always more work to be done,” he said.
Among the additional highlights of the crime report: The largest percentage drop in precinct-level crime occurred in White Marsh, where it fell by 14 percent from the previous five-year average, followed by Woodlawn, where it dropped 11.6 percent.
Overall, crime decreased in nine of the county’s 10 precincts. The only increase came in the Towson precinct. There, crime rose 9.2 percent against the five-year average. Police cited a large increase in thefts as the reason for the overall spike. Towson reported 2,336 thefts in 2012, which represents a 16.1 percent increase against the five-year average and a 19 percent jump compared with 2011.
