TOWSON, Md. — Dozens of Baltimore County residents gathered at George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology in Towson to share their public safety concerns directly with county officials at the first of three planned county town hall meetings.
Baltimore County leaders address crime concerns in Towson at town hall
Residents raised a range of issues, from youth crime and loitering to dangerous driving conditions.
"I'm not here to complain; I'm here because I care about Towson," one teenage speaker said. "I'd like to know how Baltimore County leaders and Baltimore County Police plan to work together to improve safety."
Many say they're seeing youth steal cars and be released. Business owners also voiced frustrations about loitering. And concerns about speeding drew big crowd reactions.
"My biggest fear is crossing the crosswalk on York Road. There are so many cars that regularly run the red light," one neighbor said.
Leaders responded to each question and shared crime data. Maryland Department of Juvenile Services Secretary Betsy Fox Tolentino highlighted recent reductions in violent crime.
"We have a 75% decline in carjacking; handguns are down 40% since last year," Tolentino said. "We're making meaningful progress, but we are also clear-eyed; there is more work to do."
Baltimore County Council Chairman Mike Ertel said perceptions of crime may not reflect reality.
"There's situations everywhere; I don't think Towson is any less safe than it's ever been," Ertel said. "People are constantly inundated with things, so I think we magnify the crime we do have, but that doesn't mean it's not important and people shouldn't be worried about it."
What's being done to address the issues?
On the issue of youth crime, Tolentino said the focus is on being proactive, especially in the summer months.
"With the threat of a meetup happening last week in Towson, when we got that information from our law enforcement partners, we called every young person we had on supervision and let them know the consequences of engaging in such a meetup, and that didn't come together as anticipated," Tolentino said.
When asked about the fatal road rage shooting at the Towson Circle, Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough said he is working to grow the department.
"We continue to add resources as we build the department back in terms of personnel; we continue to add technology and resources. We're going to actually be rolling out a new program involving the sharing of cameras across Baltimore County," McCullough said.
McCullough also addressed speeding and road safety enforcement.
"One of the things I want to start is an aggressive driving enforcement team, so we will be stepping up our enforcement," McCullough said.
Two more public safety town hall meetings are scheduled this month — one in Essex on July 14 at 6 pm and another in Randallstown on July 22 at 6 pm.
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