It is a pleasure to be here this morning to announce Baltimore County’s final crime statistics for 2008. I thank Major Rob Dewberry, Captain Barry Barber, Lieutenant Pat Brennan, and all the officers of Precinct 2 in Woodlawn for having us as their guests.
For 135 years, thanks to the professionalism, selflessness, and tireless dedication of the brave men and women of the Baltimore County Police Department, public safety has been the foundation of Baltimore County’s prosperity. And today, I am proud to announce that thanks to their efforts, crime in Baltimore County continued to drop in 2008. Of the eight serious crime categories, seven have seen a decrease since 2007 - Homicides, Rape, Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Burglary, Motor Vehicle Theft, and Arson. Overall in 2008, violent crime decreased by 8.3 percent while even in the face of this down economy, total crime in Baltimore County decreased by more than 1 percent. In addition to the decrease in crime, our Baltimore County Police Department continues to maintain impressive clearance rates that are well above the FBI’s national average. Our officers had a 94 percent clearance rate for homicides in 2008, which is almost 33 percent above the national average. And thanks to the close collaboration between the Police Department and States Attorney Scott Shellenberger and his staff, criminals receive the punishments that they deserve, sending a very clear message: Criminals are not welcome in Baltimore County, and if you break our laws, you will be caught and you will be prosecuted. It is a fundamental responsibility of local government to fortify the foundation of public safety at every opportunity. That is why Baltimore County has supported our Police Department with the resources they need, including the most sophisticated technology available. In fact, yesterday, Baltimore County broke ground on a new $57 million digital communications network that will significantly improve our first responders’ ability to communicate with each other and with other County agencies. In addition, this system will provide the opportunity for future interoperability with first responders from surrounding jurisdictions. Baltimore County has a tradition of commitment of providing our officers with the most effective communications technology possible and this new digital communication network is only the most recent example of that commitment. Baltimore County is providing state-of-the-art technology that gives our officers the tools to enable them to be more effective and efficient in tackling centuries old crimes, such as homicide and robbery, as well as crimes that have emerged in the 21st century, such as identity theft. Baltimore County has been committed to providing our Police Department with the most advanced DNA analysis equipment available. Thanks to the use of this technology, we have arrested 36 sexual offenders since 2005 and solved 56 cases, most of which were cold cases that had been unsolved for years. Many of the offenders in these cases had committed more than one rape.
Computer forensic specialists are a new generation of crime fighters. They work with investigators to find evidence on hard drives in cases ranging from child abuse to homicide. And a state-of-the-art comparison microscope makes it possible for forensic investigators to compare tool marks and shell casings with increased accuracy and precision. Technology contributes to improving the response time of our police as well. Three new helicopters have expanded the time that the aviation unit can be in the air, and they have also increased the speed with which they can reach the scene of an incident. Our roads and highways are safer thanks to tag reader technology which makes it possible for officers to check information related to license plates in minutes, a process that used to take hours. And new digital fingerprinting technology allows for instantaneous transmission of digitized fingerprints to support investigations in each of our precincts. Today, Baltimore County is safer than it has been in a generation, proving that technology is an effective tool in reducing crime. When we invest in technology to fight crime, we are investing in the future of Baltimore County. But there is another equally important factor in the improved crime statistics of this County. Regional cooperation has been invaluable in the battle against crime, and collaboration with the State of Maryland and our neighboring jurisdictions has been essential to the results we are seeing today. The Warrant Apprehension Task Force brings together detectives from Baltimore County, Baltimore City, and neighboring jurisdictions to find and arrest dangerous offenders, who have outstanding warrants. This task force was established in 1999 and during 2008 made its 11,000th arrest on a Baltimore County warrant. Baltimore County and Baltimore City detectives also work together on the Regional Auto Theft Team, which has made Baltimore County’s 68 percent clearance rate on auto thefts possible. Along with partnerships like the joint gun squad, which focuses on getting illegal guns off the street, and the regional bank robbery task force which collaborates with the FBI, these regional partnerships are helping to make the entire Baltimore Metropolitan area a safer place. The statistics you see today are clear evidence that our continued commitment to public safety is paying real dividends – dividends that contribute to the quality of life of everyone who lives, works, or shops in Baltimore County. | 
Courthouse 