Violent Crime

Violent crime in Howard County jumped 18 percent last year as the Police Department handled more assaults and robberies, but the overall crime rate declined slightly - by 3 percent - fueled by a drop in property crimes, police said. Rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults increased last year while the number of homicides remained unchanged, at seven, according to police statistics released yesterday. Burglaries declined 11 percent and thefts dropped 6 percent. Motor vehicle thefts, which dipped to a five-year low in 2000, have since crept upward.

In past years with high numbers of homicides, Baltimore officials found a glimmer of hope -- namely that while murder counts were high, the overall incidence of violent crime was dropping. But that doesn't appear to be the case in 1993, police officials said.As the year drew to a close, the homicide total remained at 354 late yesterday. That is by far the deadliest count -- 19 more than the previous record set in 1992. And police say Baltimore's crime picture has worsened in nearly every other category.

Violent crime in Howard County fell 11 percent in the first nine months of this year, while vandalism and similar crimes rose nearly 5 percent, according to statistics released by the Howard County Police Department."

Maryland's second Governor's Crime Summit begins today seeking answers to some of the nation's most troubling questions: Why do young people resort to violent crime, and what can be done to deter them?With Montel Williams in Baltimore today to film a special edition of his television talk show and newly appointed U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno to speak tomorrow, the crime summit would seem to be just about guaranteed of receiving widespread attention.Saying he is looking for "the root causes of crime," Gov. William Donald Schaefer is encouraging participants at the two-day summit to talk about how families and communities can help prevent crime.

NEW ORLEANS -- Mayor C. Ray Nagin, seeking to reassure his city, provided an update yesterday on steps being taken to combat a surge in violent crime - including increasing the use of surveillance cameras, placing more police on foot patrols and setting up a blitz of traffic checkpoints. But many residents, frightened and angered by the crime that has left at least 14 dead since Jan. 1, said they were reserving judgment on the initiatives until they produce concrete results. The mayor said that 50 cameras were operational and that within the next two months, 20 other crime "hot spots" would be placed under surveillance.

SILVER SPRING - Maryland, Washington and Virginia have begun sharing daily arrest information for violent offenders throughout the region, a new partnership that officials said opens the borders for law enforcement while increasing pressure on repeat criminals. The initiative was announced yesterday at a regional summit where Gov. Martin O'Malley, Washington Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine met to discuss safety and transportation issues, including how to address increased strains on public transportation and maintaining and improving Metrorail.

Violent crime in the county rose 10 percent during the first half of the year, with aggravated assaults and homicides leading the way, according to statistics released by the county police yesterday.Nine homicides were recorded from January to June this year, compared with seven during the same period last year.The number of aggravated assaults also has risen, from 449 to 521.Most of the homicides and many of the assaults are of a domestic nature, and it is difficult for police officials to say why the number fluctuates.

Violent crime rose by double-digit percentages in cities across the country over the past two years, reversing the declines of the mid- to late 1990s, according to a new report by a prominent law enforcement association. While overall crime has been declining nationwide, police officials have been warning of a rise in murder, robbery and gun assaults since late 2005, particularly in midsize cities and in the Midwest. Now, they say, two years of data indicate the spike is more than an aberration.

Violent crime in Baltimore County dropped by 8.1 percent during the first half of 1994, a decline that officials attributed to a cold winter and crime prevention programs.Overall crime increased by 1.2 percent over the same period of 1993, largely the result of a 27.4 percent in auto theft.County Executive Roger B. Hayden, facing a tough re-election battle, showed up yesterday with police officials at the White Marsh police precinct to announce the good news and to unveil the first shipment of 100 new police cruisers being added to the county's fleet -- the first new cars since 1990.

Violent crime has so overloaded Maryland's law enforcement system that it is "close to gridlock," says the state's top law officer, who announced plans for a summit meeting of government, business and community representatives next month to plan new strategies."