Car break-ins
Last year in Baltimore, more than 6,500 cars were broken into (my stats end Dec. 13, and at that point the figure stood 6,589). That was a 10 percent increase from the same period in 2007. In one seven day period of December, city police say they took reports on 121 larceny from autos. In the first 10 days of January, 182 cars were broken into. And that's a 12 percent drop from that time period in 2007.
In today's print edition, I wrote about one more of these frustrating crimes. Nanci Gosnell took 10 5th-grade boys to visit the National Aquarium on Friday. It was a neat -- and expensive -- overnight stay, and the kids loved it. But when they returned to their two Cadillac Escalades parked on the second floor of the garage the aquarium told them to use, they found windows broken, the interiors ransacked and a missing iPod and GPS device.
These are two of the most commonly stolen items, and police have warned for years not to leave them or cell phones in your car. Even a charger will tell a crook that something more valuable might be hidden inside. But it wasn't the crime that got Gosnell angry -- it was that a police officer never came to her 911 call.
That left she, another chaperon and 10 kids standing in the cold, waiting from 9:15 to 11:05 in the morning, when they finally gave up, and having to explain to childen why Officer Friendly didn't show up. Turns out the officer made a mistake -- he went to a garage at 100 South Street instead of 100 S. Gay St.
But still, no one ever called Gosnell back to say the officer couldn't find her. The officer was a mere two blocks away. One extra call would have solve the whole problem and Gosnell could've driven home with at least the satisfaction that somebody cared. It's bad enough she fell victim to city crime after having scolded other mother's who expressed concern about sending their kids into the city. Her experience with police only soured her more.
I'm happy that the officer didn't simply blow off the call. But communication is key, and one more step could've have helped put a bright spot on an otherwise awful day.
Comments
As a victim of a youth that stole my cell phone from my hand on at Pratt and South Streets, I have to admit that for the highly trafficked area of town, the police presence is conspicuously absent. This lack of a deterrent effect I think is manifesting itself in other ways.
Posted by: JJT | January 27, 2009 12:04 PM
Seems like the cops are satisfied to let the "downtown partnership" folks "police" the whole downtown area. what a joke...
Posted by: attgig | January 27, 2009 4:08 PM
Peter-
As we all know, ten year-olds are very impressionable. I believe these children were visiting from Washington, D.C. The sad thing is that they will remember this occurrence for years and it will obviously taint their image of Baltimore.
Is there any type of security force that patrols parking garages such as this?
Posted by: patrick lynch | January 28, 2009 5:58 AM
What I don't understand about this story is why she called 911. I have always been told 911 is for EMERGENCIES, this wasn't an emergency. She should have called 311.
Posted by: jim | January 29, 2009 7:30 AM