Captain J. M. Lurz, Commander of Precinct 7 - Cockeysville Every few months, Captain Lurz will provide a message regarding issues of interest to the residents and the general public at large within the Cockeysville Precinct. The three previous messages will be maintained on this page for reference. February 2, 2009 As we enter into the midpoint of the winter season, we are naturally thinking of the advent of warmer weather. Spring, can’t wait for it to arrive. While enduring the snow and icy conditions, please keep in mind the common sense ideals of safe driving. Remember to slow down and maintain extra distance between vehicles when traveling. Also, please remember to never leave a vehicle unattended while warming up. This is nothing short of an open invitation for a passerby to hop in and take off with your vehicle. And lastly with the schools closed for snow days, be cognizant of children playing and sledding near neighborhood streets. This spring, starting on March 5, 2009, the Baltimore County Police Department will hold its 24th Citizen’s Academy. The Academy continuing through to May 24, 2009, is a 13 class, 12 week program designed to give interested community members and residents a down to earth working knowledge of how our Police Department functions. Attendees will have an opportunity to see how different “real policing” is when compared to what is shown on the various television shows. Some of the highlights of the Citizen’s Academy are: - An introduction into all of the various units and teams that comprise our department and how they interact with each other.
- An in depth presentation on the major functions such as traffic crash investigation, homicide, robbery, and burglary investigations, and the various support units such as criminal records, quartermaster, evidence control, and court liaison.
- An overview of specialized units including crime lab, computer forensics, narcotics, and auto theft task force.
- A day at the Police Range to understand officer safety, use of force, gun safety, and shooting policy. There will also be an opportunity to fire a police duty pistol for those interested.
- An overview of patrol procedures for dealing with the day to day calls for service.
The concept of the Citizen’s Academy is to give members of the public that our department serves, a real life view of what modern policing is all about. Thus the attendee will be able to see things from an officer’s perspective. This will then allow him/her to be able to better understand why an officer reacts and takes the actions that they do when answering a call for service. Many past attendees have commented that this program was a “real eye opener” and were amazed at what goes into being a police officer in the new millennium. For questions, further information, a brochure, and or an application, please send me an e-mail at jlurz@baltimorecountymd.gov October 2, 2008 As we enter into the fall, I would like to extend just a few reminders for the area residents as kids return to school and the summer comes to an end. - The opening of area schools brings an increase in vehicular and pedestrian traffic, particularly in the morning and afternoon hours. While driving, remember to use extra caution during these times while students are going to or returning from school.
- If your children walk to school, please stress to them the importance of crossing the street at designated crosswalks that have assigned school crossing guards. Be particularly attentive near these crosswalks and follow the directions of the school crossing guard or police officer that may be there to direct traffic.
- If your children walk to school, review pedestrian safety issues with them and make sure that you know the route that they walk. No shortcuts through back yards or woods! Walking in groups is always the safest way to go. Make sure they know NOT to walk up to strangers, NOT to walk up to a stranger's car to answer "questions", not to help a stranger find a lost dog. If someone is acting suspiciously, teach him or her to "look to the tag" and, if they can, get that tag number! Have them write it on their hand or backpack if they need to do that. Make sure that they report any suspicious incidents to you or school personnel right away. Call 911 to report these incidents.
- Maryland requires that vehicles come to a full stop at least 20 feet in front of or 20 feet to the rear (depending on your direction of travel) of a school bus with its red lights flashing. This is a critical safety issue during the school year and state law sees it as such. There could be a $555 fine and three points against the violator's driver's license. And, when the bus pulls a way, why not wait another few seconds to make sure that no one is running after it because they missed it!
Please take an extra few minutes and concentrate on defensive driving and anticipating the unexpected as you drive in residential neighborhoods or in the immediate vicinity of a school. July 15, 2008 I send many e-mails out to the residents and business owners in Precinct 7 reminding them of the importance in calling 911 to report suspicious activity when it is happening. I am pleased to report that we have had a few recent incidents in which quick police response led to the apprehension of criminal suspects. As a result, some small crime sprees were put to rest. The quick police response and our success in locating and arresting the suspects came as a direct result of someone calling 911 when suspicious subjects and activity were seen. Although police presence had been increased in those areas experiencing the trends, it was the phone call made by a witness that was an integral part of the arrests. That's what we have been trying to stress with our constituents - and at least one call made to 911 came from an e-mail tree member - your input is critical to helping us keep the communities safe. We need to continue to work as partners as we move toward the future! Please remember to take the simple steps to reduce your chances of becoming a crime victim by locking car doors and locking doors and windows on houses. We are noticing a decline in the number of burglaries that occur in which entry was gained through an unlocked door or window. That's good news! Two years ago, roughly 31percent of the burglaries in Precinct 7 involved an unlocked door or window. That's not good news! That number has dropped off through the first six months of 2008. I credit the e-mail tree and the community residents for this decline because they are spreading the word to "lock up" to their families and friends. Now we need to carry that word about thefts from autos. The vast majority of thefts from autos, including those that occurred during a recent spree, involve entry through an unlocked car door. Please take the extra minute to take the simple steps to decrease your chances of becoming a victim of a burglary or theft of or from your vehicle. A few reminders for the summertime months: - Swimming is illegal in Loch Raven and Prettyboy Reservoirs, which are both located within Precinct 7. Aside from the illegality, these bodies of water can be quite dangerous to even experienced swimmers. Underwater currents and sudden thermal changes can be challenging and can have deadly consequences. Please stress this with your families - do not swim in the reservoirs.
- School is out and there are fewer school buses on the roadways. However, please don't forget that there are more children outside at this time of year. Particularly within the residential areas of our precinct. Stay aware and stay alert.
As always, thank you for supporting us...enjoy your summer! April 2, 2008 Welcome to the Baltimore County Police Precinct 7 - Cockeysville Web Page. As stated in the overview, the officers and staff of Precinct 7 serve the largest geographical area in Baltimore County. It is a challenge, but a challenge that we welcome. Our goal is to provide the best possible service to our residents and constituents within our area. Partnership with our citizens and community and business associations is critical to our success. That partnership requires open communication and keeping you up to date on crime trends and proactive crime prevention information. We ask that you join us by becoming part of the team that works together to keep our neighborhoods each a safe place in which to work and live in Baltimore County. Your commitment to partnership can be quite simple - stay alert to the information that we pass along and call 911 when you observe suspicious persons or activity. We understand that some folks are hesitant to call 911 because they feel the information may be trivial. Please remember that we would rather respond to a call of suspicious activity and find that all is well than miss the opportunity to obtain a critical piece of information that may help prevent or solve a crime. We have established an "e-mail tree" at Precinct 7 that we use to pass along crime trend information and crime prevention tips. This is an extremely powerful and popular tool in getting information out quickly to residents and the business and community associations to help them stay in touch with us. Community Association presidents then take our e-mails and distribute them throughout their membership database. We plan on archiving and posting past e-mail messages and updates on our web page in the near future. If you are interested in joining our e-mail tree, please send an e-mail to me at: jlurz@baltimorecountymd.gov We are trying to arrange the e-mail tree geographically, so please be sure to include your name and address or location of your neighborhood or business. Lastly, I would like to invite all residents to join the Precinct 7 Police and Community Relations Council. The "PCRC" meets every fourth Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Bank of America Building, 11333 McCormick Road. The PCRC, which recently celebrated its 25th year, gives all citizens a chance to meet the precinct commander and staff one-on-one to ask questions and address issues in the community. For more information, please contact Officer Kevin Geiger, Precinct 7 Community Outreach, at 410-887-1863 or by e-mail at: kgeiger@baltimorecountymd.gov
Revised July 7, 2009 |
Courthouse 