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Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Baltimore's Jewish Community Plagued by Crime...and More Crime


The Baltimore neighborhoods of Pikesville, Greenspring, Ranchleigh and Upper Park Heights have recently experienced an upsurge in crime.  

Multiple homes and cars have been broken into, some in the middle of the day while people were home, and others at night while residents were sleeping.   

The brazen criminals have even smashed through a large bay window to enter a living room.   

Cash, jewelry, laptops, silver Judaica and cellphones are some of the commonly stolen items.  Even after having their home robbed to add insult to injury one family also had their car stolen.

The break-ins and thefts are likely the result of multiple criminals who are communicating their recent successes to their friends, inviting more intrusion.

In response to the increased criminal activity, a group of volunteers has stepped up to help patrol the community, and a number of community groups have hired off-duty policeman to patrol the area during the day and at night.  Shomrim and Northwest Citizens Patrol (NWCP) have been supportive in these efforts.

When questioned about the recent crimes in the neighborhood, Ronnie Rosenbluth,Vice President of Shomrim, stated that it’s “not just in one neighborhood, it’s happening all over.  We all need to be aware and alert, and call 911 and Shomrim if we see any crimes happening.” With community participation, these criminals will be caught.

One Ranchleigh patrol volunteer described his experience spotting two suspicious men wearing hoodies walking up and down in the Amleigh and Baythorne area.  

The volunteer said, “I also spotted a female driver waiting for the guys in a car by the corner we let Shomrim know, and when I saw the guys cut through someone’s property to Amleigh, that’s when I called the police.”  The men hopped into a getaway car and drove off towards Park Heights.

Police followed the car and pulled it over in the city. 

They arrested one passenger who had an outstanding warrant; the others were released.

On Wednesday, a county resident shared that,  at 11 AM,  a house next door to his was broken into through the back window.

The homeowner’s silent alarm went off and the police arrived five minutes later with a K-9 unit, but by then the intruder was gone. They have not identified the criminal, and they assume he escaped by car.

Police urge the community to remain vigilant. According to Baltimore Police Major Marc Parte, “We have a new deployment in place to address the increase in crime. 

This includes extra officers and a different type of patrol system we are taking it very seriously.”

 Read More At: BALTIMOREJEWISHLIFE.COM

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