Breaking and Entering

There are few worse fears to have than to know that a stranger has been in your home, and stolen your property. In the past year Calvert County has posted a 38% increase in burglary, which contributed to an 18 % overall increase in total crime. I see very little concern from citizens in the county about this dramatic rise in crime. The last thing we need in Calvert is to become complacent about crime, and accept that a 38% increase is normal. The surrounding jurisdictions have all posted reductions in crime rates. As these jurisdictions continue to focus on crime reduction, Calvert County will become the land of opportunity for the career criminal. Criminals will venture to locations where they will not be caught. When you see robberies and residential break-ins along your borders of other jurisdictions, these are tests of your law enforcement response. If they (the criminals) are successful, it is unlikely they will go away.

The most disturbing thing for me is to have to wait for the end of the year to learn that we have what is beginning to be a serious problem. I would rather know as soon as possible so that the community groups and neighborhood watch programs can organize and help our Sheriff’s Department combat rising crime. There are many things that a community can do instead of waiting and hoping the crime rate goes down. Demand from your elected officials a focused effort to reduce property crime in your neighborhoods and county. There are several web sites that offer up to date crime information. This information can be used to provide information to those in the community that are the eyes and ears. With a focused effort from our Sheriff’s Department based on up to date crime analysis, and the help of our communities, we can turn this around. It really is true that a Sheriff’s Department or Police Department is nothing without community support behind it. We just have not done a good job around here asking for it and utilizing it.

You deserve high quality police service

Vote Brenneman 4 Calvert County Sheriff