Meeting focuses on Elkridge crime

Liz Walsh, Howard County Council’s District 1 representative, speaks at a news conference about her proposed Office of the Inspector General. Walsh spearheaded a meeting to address crime concerns in Elkridge. Elizabeth Alspach/Staff

During a town hall meeting Monday night, Elkridge residents brought up concerns about burglaries, prostitution, speeding and vandalism to representatives from the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks, the county police department, District 1 council member Liz Walsh and State’s Attorney Rich Gibson.

Hosted by Walsh and staff at the Elkridge Branch Library, the meeting was called to discuss longstanding concerns about crime and public safety in Elkridge. About 100 residents attended the meeting, according to Walsh’s staff.

Officials addressed residents’ concerns by explaining actions the county is taking to reduce crime, including installing gates and security cameras, hiring more police officers and implementing programs such as Teen Kick Backs, a free drop-in program for youths ages 11-17, to try and keep them off the streets.

According to the police department’s crime data dashboard, between Jan. 1 and May 31, there were two reports of burglaries/breaking and entering, one forcible sex offense and 21 incidents involving destruction/damage/vandalism of property in Dorsey’s Search in District 1. In all of last year, there were 13 burglaries/breaking and entering, one forcible sex offense and 32 offense counts of destructive/damage/vandalism of property in Dorsey’s Search.

Between Jan. 1 and May 31, there were 306 traffic stops for motor vehicle law violations for exceeding the posted maximum speed limit across the county, according to the police department’s traffic data dashboard. Last year, there were 977 traffic stops for motor vehicle law violations for exceeding the posted maximum speed limit across the county.

Bill Merson, 70, of Elkridge, said he is concerned about the amount of speeding along Old Washington Road.

“My grandson is 10 years old, and he plays out in the front yard and walks the sidewalks to the bus stop and home in the afternoon and it’s dangerous,” he said.

Robin Watson, 67, of Elkridge, who is Merson’s sister and neighbor, said she is also concerned about the amount of speeding along the road. She said she hopes the meeting will result in traffic slowing down.

“It was a really good response from county representatives and the police, and they seemed genuinely interested in getting our input,” she said. “I’ve asked to make sure that we know when the other meetings are going to be so we can continue to come and hopefully have some answers for some of the things that we’ve asked about.”