Howard County police said today that an initiative to curb robberies in Columbia has resulted in 62 arrests and a drop in such crimes since the effort began in February.
Officers were temporarily reassigned to areas in Columbia such as Long Reach, Oakland Mills, Wilde Lake and Harper's Choice to address an increase in robbery cases this winter, police said.
According to authorities, undercover and uniformed officers closed 17 recent robbery cases and seized more than $12,000, six cars and various amounts of marijuana, crack cocaine and powder cocaine.
Robbery incidents in the county dropped to 14 in February and 16 in March, from 40 cases in January, police said.
The department said that resources devoted to the program have since been scaled back, but anti-robbery efforts will be increased again if needed.
Originally published April 4, 2006, 1:06 PM EDT
