I don't usually spend much time in such high NON-crime areas as the village of Oakside in Owings Mills. This tiny copy of Columbia is just 149 town homes with all the trappings of suburbia. There's already more leaves on the ground than grass, the lawns are mowed, the mail boxes shared.

Looking around, as I did for today's column in the print edition, there is no crime. Can't be.

But of course there is. The neighborhood association hired security to force a suspected drug dealer to move. Now, the association wants to hire security full time, for night patrols, which would cost $39,000. An extra $20 to $25 a year in fees.

The association treasurer, Richard N. Maracotta, told me he's searched the Internet and sees crime encroaching and wants to stop it before it starts. Resident Linda Waxter says she's neither seen nor heard of crime in her neighborhood and sees the extra expense as wasteful.

The trouble is that neither side really knows the facts. Waxter called me not to complain about the community fight over security but to find out exactly what kind of crime is happening where she lives. I confess, I wasn't able to find out.

A day or two isn't enough time for police to pull stats on streets or neighborhoods. Baltimore County Police spokesman Bill Toohey did the best he could. He checked with commanders in the precinct that covers the area and reported back, "We know of no significant crime trends in that community."

The police web site doesn't help much either. Instead of giving actual crime, it gives averages for geographic areas. It shows no crime in Oakview. Toohey has told me the department is working on a more detailed map that will show actual incidents. The Baltimore Sun is working with departments to post detaled crime maps online. Anne Arundel County police was the first department to share data, and their map on our site is updated weekly.

More and more communities such as Oakside are debating spending money to hire extra security. But without timely and accurate information, they can't possibly be expected to make informed decisions. The residents of Oakside are scheduled to vote Nov. 19 and it could come down to whether there is a crime problem. And no one will really know.