The number of violent crimes in Baltimore County last year was the highest in four years.

The long-awaited Baltimore County Police Department report, released this week, said crime rose 3.6% in 2001.

Rates were up for robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, thefts and property crimes.

The 6,543 incidents of violent crime last year was the most since 1997, when 7,298 incidents were reported. In 2000, there were 6,175 incidents.

The good news: Homicides, rapes and motor vehicle thefts fell throughout the county last year.

The 2001 figures were supposed to be released months ago but were delayed due to a 2000 computer system that slowed data entry, police spokesman Bill Toohey said.

"We never recovered from Y2K," Toohey said.

According to the much-anticipated report, total crime in the county rose by 2,731 incidents in 2001 compared to 2000, an increase of 3.6%.

"It would be wrong to make judgments about safety and the quality of life based on the statistics from a single year, since crime numbers have dropped significantly _ in some cases, dramatically, since 1995," Toohey said.

Compared to 2000, last year there were two fewer homicides, five fewer rapes and 129 fewer motor vehicle thefts.

There were 37,405 offenses classified as Part 1 Crime -homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault _ in 2001, an increase of 1,211 crimes, or 3.3%, compared to the 36,194 cases reported in 2000.

But other than 1999 and 2000, the Part I figure is the lowest reported since 1980, when the FBI began a uniform crime reporting system.

Year-to-year, total violent crime increased by 367 cases, with 6,543 cases in 2001 compared to 6,176 in the previous year.

Homicides, at 31 for 2001, topped the previous five-year average of 28 cases. Six of the homicides occurred in both the Essex and North Point precincts; five occurred in the Woodlawn Precinct; four in Garrison; three each in the Wilkens and Towson precincts; and two homicides occurred in both the Cockeysville and White Marsh precincts, the report states.

Rapes decreased from 238 during 2000 to 233 in 2001, a number that is slightly below the pervious five-year average of 235.

Rapes decreased in the Garrison Precinct from 37 in 2000 to 29 in 2001; in the Towson Precinct, from 27 to 19; in the Essex Precinct, from 46 to 41; in the White Marsh Precinct, from 20 to 16; and in the Cockeysville Precinct, from 11 to 9.

All other precincts reported increases, with the highest increase in the North Point Precinct, where there were 16 more rape cases in 2001 than the previous year. In 58.7% of those cases, the victim knew the suspect before the offense, police said.

Robberies were also up in the county in 2001, with 1,723 cases compared to 1,582 cases in 2000, an increase of 8.9%. Nevertheless, with the exception of 1999 and 2000, the number of robberies is the fewest reported since 1990, police said.

Robberies were up in every precinct except Cockeysville, which saw six fewer cases, from 81 in 2000 to 75 in 2001.

The greatest increases in robberies were in the Woodlawn Precinct with 43 more cases than the previous year, and in the Garrison Precinct, which had 22 more cases.

Aggravated assaults also increased in 2001 over the previous year, from 4,323 to 4,556, an increase of 5.4%. Aggravated assaults fell in the Towson and Cockeysville precincts, while all other precincts saw an increase in aggravated assaults.

The largest increase was in Woodlawn, which had 90 more cases, and the North Point Precinct with 60 more cases. The Towson Precinct reported a decrease of 50 fewer cases.

Property crimes increased from 30,018 offenses in 2000 to 30,862 in 2001, an increase of 2.8%.

Burglaries rose by 12%, from 5,499 offenses in 2000 to 6,158 in 2001. The majority of the increase occurred in Garrison Precinct, where there were 139 more cases; the Woodlawn Precinct, with 136 more cases; the North Point Precinct, with 126 more cases; and White Marsh Precinct, with 125 more cases.

Also, thefts increased from 20,751 in 2000 to 21,039 in 2001, an increase of 1.4%.

Thefts declined in all precincts except Parkville, which experienced a 1 case increase; White Marsh, which had 128 more cases; Essex, which experienced a 181-case increase; and North Point, with a 538-case increase.

Motor vehicle thefts fell by 129 cases, or 3.8%, from 3,406 in 2000 to 3,277 in 2001. Every precinct except Woodlawn, Garrison and Essex reported a decline in auto thefts.

The Garrison Precinct saw an 11.9% increase, with 59 more cases, while motor vehicle thefts in Essex were up 44 more cases, or 12.6%.

Owings Mills Times

-- Anonymous, October 14, 2002