Precinct 7 Crime Rate Rises Despite Countywide Declines

Baltimore County officials last week showing an overall reduction in county crime, but figures for Cockeysville's Precinct 7 have actually increased.

The Cockeysville precinct recorded two more homicides, 12 more rapes and 15 more robberies in 2010 than in 2009.

But Capt. J. Martin Lurz said statistics don’t capture the specifics of each incident.

“Not all of these crimes are random acts,” Lurz said. “Many times, victims are targeted by someone they know.”

He said to take that into consideration when looking at the increase in rapes.

“I won’t go into the specifics of each case, but all 13 incidents have been cleared by the Special Victims Unit,” he said. “Though the numbers are high, there are not predators out there stalking everyone.”

Another reason for the elevated figures could be more people reporting crimes.

“I’m always begging people to call if they see something fishy,” Lurz said.

He also mentioned the figures don’t show the relationships between the incidents. For example, one individual could have orchestrated a number of burglaries.

Precinct 7 did see decreases in theft and arson.