More on crime patrols
Today's column on whether the tiny subdivision of Oakview in Owings Mills New Town has sparked another debate about crime. Does the community need to hire security patrols, shouldn't the county be providing the protection, and is the existing citizen's patrol run by New Town enough?
Linda Waxter, who opposes paying for more security in Oakview, wondered in an e-mail today why she should pay for services the county already provides. "I am completely baffled," she wrote. "Isn't it the responsibility of government law enforcement agencies to handle this kind of problem?"
Well, yes, of course it is. But cops can't be everywhere, and communities across the nation pay to get more. Places from Crofton, which has its own armed police force that costs a half million dollars a year, to the Charles Village Benefits District in Baltimore, pay heavily for extra protection. It's not always an indictment on government services; it's just that some people want more than what the government can provide. They also want control. Back in the 1990s, Orioles owner Peter Angelos used his own money to pay city cops overtime to patrol Charles Street, outside one of his office towers. He argued that workers simply drove home at the end of the day, he wanted them to feel safe going out for a beer or dinner and walking around downtown.
It's a never-ending debate. There will never be enough police to satisfy everyone. Waxter sent me an e-mail she got from Matt Lewis, the president of the Oakside Association in Owings Mills New Town. He said they hired security to push out drug dealers who were using a home on Sherwood Farm Road.
"To thwart their attempts and to rid our neighborhood of this undesirable presence, the Oakside Board made a decision to hire Night Patrol and immediately put into action a Sting Operation," Lewis wrote." This Sting Operation lasted approximately three months and was very successful! Unfortunetly, the cost of hiring the Night Patrol was not budgeted for, thereby causing us to go into a deficit."
The administrator of the Owings Mills New Town Citizen's On Patrol, Daniel Bralove, sent me a lengthy e-mail and he encouraged me to post it. It again gets into how much crime data is available. I argue that police agencies should post on-line as much up-to-date information as possible. A big part of the argument in Oakview is how much crime actually occurrs there. Good data could end that argument and move the debate forward:
I am writing to you in regards to the following article: Tiny suburb considers private policing.
Quite frankly I was shocked to read this article, as I am the Administrator for the Owings Mills New Town Citizens on Patrol, a volunteer organization that helps maintain the quality of life for the 3000 homes that make up Owings Mills New Town. The community mentioned in your article, Oakside, is within our patrol zone – and receives a regular amount of patrol from a group of concerned neighbors. We run on schedule that is only known to me at this time (to prevent patterns to emerge that potential criminals may pick up on), and we patrol in our personal vehicles which are clearly marked with yellow beacon lights mounted on the roof and magnetic signs that read “Owings Mills Newtown Citizens on Patrol”.
Our organization formed approximately one year ago in response to a number of acts of vandalism inside our community. I take great pride in celebrating the fact that this type of property crime has all but disappeared from Newtown in the past year, and I credit our dedicated volunteers for this.
Just last night, the Owings Mills Newtown Community Association Inc. held it’s annual meeting (open to all residents of Newtown), and security was our primary point of discussion. We are constantly recruiting for volunteers in the community, whom we train and provide the necessary equipment to safely patrol our neighborhoods.
In you article you note that Mr. Marcota has been checking the Internet recently and noting crime trends. The Baltimore County Police Department recently released crime information on www.crimereports.com which allows citizens to search for criminal activity in their neighborhoods. The data available on the Internet currently goes back to July of 2008, and upon a quick glance at the data, it may appear that crime is rising in and around the Oakside community. I however have taken the time to analyze the data in depth and have tracked the location of the activity, the type of activity and the time when it is occurring. I have even gone so far as to publish my analysis on a spreadsheet located on our website www.omntcop.org. Mr. Marcota and other residents in the Newtown community must keep in mind that they are viewing a very small amount of data, and if they had access to the data over a greater period of time – perhaps one year, they would see that the activity has dramatically decreased.
In reference to the idea of privatized security patrols in the community, I must say that I am a bit confused. For the past year, Owings Mills Newtown has supplemented our COP program with the addition of a private security company that has vehicles patrolling our community on a routine basis. The patrol publishes nightly shift reports and submits it to the Owings Mills Community Assoc Inc Master Board for review at our monthly meetings (held the first Monday of every month at Libertories Bistro). We welcome all residents to these meetings, and I will gladly review the reports and crime data with anyone with concerns.
On a final note, I would like to note that on Halloween night of 2007, the Newtown community had its share of vandalism and juvenile acts that caused an eyesore to the community. I am proud to say that on Halloween of 2008, not one single act of destruction, vandalism, or similar behavior was observed. I can confidently say that none of this behavior was observed as we had a coordinated response consisting of 7 marked COP patrols, our private security, and the cooperation and assistance of the Baltimore County Police Department. We were monitoring the events of the night starting from the first trick or treater, well into the early hours of the following morning (including random patrols at both 1am and 4am).
I encourage anyone with questions, concerns, and suggestions to contact me directly at admin@omntcop.org and to visit our website at www.omntcop.org. Residents of Newtown can also request to be added to an email list where they will receive updates about any crime trends, prevention tools, and updates on meetings and our activities. I encourage all residents to keep an eye out for the upcoming Community Newsletter that will contain a cover story on COP, and ways in which residents can participate.
Daniel Bralove
Administrator, OMNT COP
Comments
Why are police departments so resistant on providing the foot patrol the public wants?
There's a big difference between being available to answer calls (ie: doing nothing important) and actually doing real police work.
It's such a shame that half the police department is tied up in what is called "patrol" but is really just chasing radio calls, half of which are B.S.
Posted by: Peter Moskos | November 10, 2008 1:10 AM