Violent Crime

Although homicides in Howard County rose from two to four last year, the relatively low violent-crime levels declined, according to police statistics that mainly covered the first 11 months of the year. Rapes were down from 43 to 34 for the entire year, a 20 percent decline, according to police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn. She added that although the number of homicides rose, all four cases last year involved domestic violence. Howard typically has a half-dozen or fewer homicides in a year.

Maryland's highest court rejected a request to reconsider an April ruling that blocks state law enforcement from collecting DNA samples when a suspect is arrested, court officials said Friday. The decision puts the case on track for an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. States and federal courts are split over whether taking a DNA sample before a suspect is convicted violates a person's Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. Law enforcement agencies announced last month that they would halt the practice for the time being.

WASHINGTON -- The rates of homicide and firearm violence jumped upward in 2005, ending a decade of decline, according to a new U.S. Justice Department report that reinforces recent warnings by law enforcement officials. The National Crime Victimization Survey, released yesterday, found that nationwide, killings increased 4.8 percent, from 16,140 in 2004 to 16,910 last year. The biggest increases were reported in the Midwest and the South. Experts said these increases buttress reports from the FBI and many mayors and police chiefs that violent crime is beginning to rise after a long decline.

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler took a first step Tuesday toward an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in a high-stakes case that blocks police across the state from collecting DNA samples when a person is arrested in connection with a violent crime or burglary. Gansler asked Maryland's highest court to reconsider its recent ruling or allow police to continue to take the samples while the state asks the Supreme Court to step in. At issue is whether taking the samples before a conviction violates an individual's constitutional rights.

Rushing to implement a new, violent-crime task force even before planning for the unit is complete, Baltimore police officials last night sent a dozen extra patrol officers into the most crime-ridden areas of East and West Baltimore in an effort to reassure beleagured residents."

According to a recent filing by Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, in response to the pending case Woolard vs. Sheridan, pertaining to Marylanders' Second Amendment rights, he points to the high handgun violence and murder rate in Baltimore as logical and sound reasoning for denying the rest of Maryland their right to carry a concealed firearm for their personal protection. He further contends that the state is not denying our rights, since all Marylanders can legally open carry a long gun (rifle)

Tricia Bishop misrepresented my research as well as the debate over concealed-carry laws ("Gun laws' sketchy effect," March 11). She makes it appear that I am only "one economist" who claims to find that right-to-carry laws reduce violent crime. By now, a vast body of research supports my results. Among peer-reviewed national studies by criminologists and economists, 18 find that right-to-carry laws reduce violent crime, 10 claim no effect, and just one claims one type of crime temporarily increases slightly.

Violent crime hit a 31-year low in Annapolis last year, but a jump in thefts led overall crime in the city to climb by 8.4 percent over 2009's 35-year low. Crime statistics provided Monday by city police pointed to a sharp increase in motor vehicle thefts last year, along with smaller increases in other thefts. "We are not at all discouraged," said Annapolis Police Chief Michael A. Pristoop, noting that the figures indicate that approaches undertaken in recent years, especially those aimed at getting violent repeat offenders off the street, are paying off. The city also has improved its police technology, added security cameras and worked with property owners as well as officials in other agencies.

Having lived in Baltimore City for 8 years, I do not know one City resident who has not been impacted, directly or indirectly, by violent crime. Where do the judges who casually release known violent offenders onto City streets live? Have they not experienced violent crime in the way the rest of us have? Where do the prosecutors who negotiate these incredibly generous and lenient plea bargains live? Do they know anyone who has suffered the consequences of their deals? Rather than marching on the neighborhood streets where these killings occur, perhaps we should process past the homes of our prosecutors and judges with caskets carrying the bodies of the victims they failed to protect.

Two recent episodes, one about a mother and daughter injured by stray gunfire, the other recounting an angry meeting at which Mayor Schmoke was criticized for being indifferent to crime, underscore the frustration and heartbreak of efforts to deal with today's epidemic of violence. City residents are deeply concerned that City Hall isn't doing enough about the problem.That may be why Mayor Schmoke's suggestion that "the people" themselves must begin to reclaim their streets met with a cool reception.

Maryland authorities have stopped collecting DNA samples from suspects arrested on violent crime and burglary charges after the state's highest court ruled the crime-fighting tool that has helped solve dozens of cold cases unconstitutional. On Friday, officials from law enforcement agencies across the state said they were acting on advice from Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler to stop the practice, pending a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Gansler has not said whether he intends to appeal the Court of Appeals decision.

Now in its 23rd year, Maryland's annual statewide memorial service for crime victims and their families, an official day of remembrance organized by prosecutors and the state Board of Victims Services, comes with a long roll call of the murdered or missing. The names now cover fully 28 pages in the program organizers hand out at the door to each of four services held across the state, and the music video that lists each name runs for most of an hour. Sunday, in Hagerstown in western Maryland, in Denton on the Eastern Shore, in Waldorf in southern Maryland and in the auditorium of Long Reach High School in Howard County, the families of victims gathered to remember their dead and to be among others who share the pain of losing a loved one to violent crime.

What happens when cities tear down public housing? The issue has played out in Baltimore and major cities across the country (remember the controversy surrounding HOPE VI, or Opportunities for People Everywhere? More here on that). A new study out this month by the Urban Institute and Emory University reveals the latest on the subject. It's an attempt to answer with "empirical evidence" whether a common perception is true: that teardowns contribute to crime waves in the neighborhoods where the former public-housing families settle.

A Dundalk woman who admitted to arranging her husband's murder two years ago was sentenced Monday to 60 years in prison. Prosecutors say Jaclyn Martin gave her brother money to buy the gun with which he shot Lee Martin outside his Dundalk bar early on May 22, 2010. Jaclyn Martin and her brother, Robert Garner, both pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the scheme. Garner had previously been sentenced to 60 years in prison. Prosecutors say Jaclyn Martin called her husband at the Hops Inn on Railway Avenue just before he stepped out of the bar. They say Garner, with the help of two others, ambushed and shot Lee Martin as he was walking to his house next to the bar. Brandon Roth, who drove the getaway car, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and was sentenced to 20 years with all but seven suspended.

The Baltimore Sun A Northwest Baltimore man was sentenced to a life in prison for robbing and shooting a Baltimore City beauty salon owner in the head, the state's attorney for Baltimore said Friday. Malcolm Pulliam was sentenced by City Circuit Court Judge John Addison Howard for the May 4, 2010 attempted murder of the owner of Blessed Productions Hair Salon in the 6600 block of Belair Road. Pullium walked into the salon, pointed a handgun at the victim and demanded to know the location of her safe, officials said.

Tricia Bishop misrepresented my research as well as the debate over concealed-carry laws ("Gun laws' sketchy effect," March 11). She makes it appear that I am only "one economist" who claims to find that right-to-carry laws reduce violent crime. By now, a vast body of research supports my results. Among peer-reviewed national studies by criminologists and economists, 18 find that right-to-carry laws reduce violent crime, 10 claim no effect, and just one claims one type of crime temporarily increases slightly.

He was wearing his Operation Desert Storm baseball cap when he was gunned down last week in front of his aunt's home in Detroit. By the time his wife ran outside, Army Spec. Anthony Riggs, 22, was dying in a gutter -- his car stolen by whoever shot him.After surviving for seven months in Saudi Arabia as part of a Patriot missile unit, Anthony Riggs, father of a 3-year-old daughter, lasted only 10 days before becoming a casualty in his own country.A few hours after his death, a letter written by Riggs from Saudi Arabia arrived in the mail.

An increased focus on gangs and high-crime areas helped spur a drop in violent crime in Harford County last year, the Harford County Sheriff's Office said last week. Between 2004 and 2005, felony crimes - which include homicide, rape, robbery, assault and theft - fell by 19 percent, according to the department. The statistics do not include incidents that took place in municipalities or were investigated by other agencies. The reductions came across the board, with the sheriff's office reporting declines in the number of rapes (54.3 percent)

Your agenda is showing. It was Patrick Moynihan who famously said, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but not their own facts. " If you will do the minimal research required via John Lott's book, "More Guns, Less Crime," you will find that violent crime falls wherever a "shall issue" concealed weapons permit law is enacted. Contacting state attorneys general where "shall issue" is in effect will confirm only a tiny percentage of permit holders are involved in gun crimes. The net result is that disarming citizens makes everyone less safe.

In response to the Feb. 25 article "Arundel police unions fault administration," I would like your readers to understand the following: The safety of those who live in, work in, and visit Anne Arundel County remains paramount for County Executive John R. Leopold and the chief of police. Undeniably, our county, our state, and most of the free world have experienced the economic downturn over the past several years. Prudent managers, having fiscal responsibility over public and private organizations, tightened or even cut their expenditures.