image description

Increase in Crime Rate Cited in Allegany County

September 20th, 2011 by WCBC Radio

There is an old cliché that suggests there is “no such thing as bad publicity”- however Cumberland and Allegany County officials may disagree following a front page article appearing in the Sunday Edition of the Baltimore Sun describing the region’s growing crime rate. The crime rate in Baltimore and most Maryland localities has gone up and down since the state joined a national system of standardized record-keeping in 1975. But statistics released last month show that the number of crimes per 100,000 people is lower in 21 of Maryland's 24 jurisdictions than it was 36 years ago. The exceptions are Allegany and two Eastern Shore counties, Caroline and Wicomico, where the crime rate is higher than in 1975. In Allegany, however, the crime rate — mostly driven by property crime — is the highest in three decades. Sheriff Craig Robertson told WCBC New that while the data is disappointing, its not surprising given the increase in the number of calls coming into his office each day.





The article attempts to link the rising crime rate with the county’s economic decline. Allegany County Economic Development Directo Matt Diaz doesn’t believe there is any correlation.





Leave a Reply