Precinct 9 – White Marsh

Commander

Captain Cathleen Batton
cbatton@baltimorecountymd.gov                             

Assistant Commander

Lieutenant Tonya Johnson
tjohnson@baltimorecountymd.gov

   
News from the Captain

If you are planning to be away from home for a while, remember to protect it with some basic crime prevention tips.

• Remove objects that might allow access to your home, such as ladders as they can be used to enter a window or scale a fence.
• Do not post travel plans on social media letting people know that your house may be unoccupied.
• Ask a neighbor, friend or relative to pick up your mail, newspapers and deliveries or simply have delivery stopped while you are away.
• Don't leave a key hidden outside. Burglars know all the best hiding places.
• Secure windows including those upstairs.
• Cut tree limbs away from second-story windows to reduce the chance of entry.
• Use timers to operate lights. It makes your home look occupied when you're not there.
• Ask a friend to move your car occasionally if it's parked in the driveway.
• Install a web-based home security system that allows you to check on your home while away, as well as arm and disarm your system from any laptop, cell phone, PDA or other web-enabled devices. Be sure to have a good firewall and protection system for your web-based system.

Stolen vehicles is a common crime trend, especially when drivers leave the keys in the ignition with the engine running. Always lock your car and take the keys with you even if you need to briefly run in the store.

Residents are encouraged to attend the White Marsh Police and Community Relations Council (PCRC) meetings held monthly. Information on their meetings, events and crime prevention is posted on their Facebook page.

Help protect your community from crime by reporting suspicious persons or activity to 911.

Resources

Are you going out of town? Don't leave your home looking unoccupied. Complete a Vacant House Form and email it to the precinct's Community Outreach Team. Officers will then check on your location for any unusual activity while you are away.

If something suspicious does happen at your home, law enforcement will be able to quickly reach you or a local emergency contact from the information provided on the form.

Blotter and Crime Trends

View the Local Blotter for the White Marsh Precinct for the latest news on crime in your area.

About the Precinct Commander

Captain Cathleen Batton joined the Baltimore County Police Department in 1998. After graduating from the police academy, she was assigned to the patrol division at the Towson Precinct. She also worked patrol in the Parkville and White Marsh precincts prior to transferring to the Behavioral Assessment Unit in 2003. She worked as a detective on the Workplace Violence Team from 2003 to 2011, completing threat assessments for cases of targeted workplace and school violence. 

She then transferred to the Media Relations Section in 2011 and represented the agency as the Public Information Officer until 2013. During that time, she was promoted to the rank of corporal. In 2013, she transferred to the Criminal Investigations Bureau and supervised detectives on the Financial Crimes Team. After being promoted to sergeant in 2015, she was assigned to supervise the Physical and Sexual Child Abuse squads in the Crimes Against Children Unit. In 2018, she was promoted to lieutenant and assigned to the Wilkens Precinct to supervise a shift of patrol officers. 

In March of 2020, she was transferred to the White Marsh Precinct as the acting captain to provide coverage during the pandemic. In January of 2021, she was promoted to the rank of captain and permanently assigned as commander of the White Marsh Precinct. 

In addition to those assignments, she also served on the Dignitary Witness Protection Team from 2004 to 2018.