Howard County makes crime-tracking tools accessible to residents
BALTIMORE -- Crime is a concern for communities across Maryland.
Now, new tools for tracking crime patterns and traffic violations are available for people who live in Howard County.
One tool is an interactive map that displays up-to-date crimes in the area. This new tool will allow them to track crime trends in Howard County.
"I think it's an awesome idea," Howard County resident David Bunmi said. "You get to be in the know of what's going on."
The Howard County Police Department and Howard County Executive Calvin Ball are launching two interactive dashboards. One of them lists crime reports while the other keeps track of traffic stops.
"I believe it's important for the population to see where are the most dangerous areas," Howard County resident Jose Bosio said.
The dashboard shows the total number of cases and offenses dating back to 2022.
It also allows county residents to search for types of crimes, zip codes, time frames, and police beats.
The launch of the crime toolkit comes after two high school students were the victims of armed robberies while walking home from school earlier this month.
"People at my school got robbed the other day," Howard County resident Isaac Akanbi said. "So, I feel like it would be good to spread awareness to folks on what's going on, so you know what's happening in your neighborhood."
The second dashboard with the traffic stops shows where they are happening in the county. They break down information so that researchers can see the driver's gender, race, and the outcome of the stop.
Bosio said he believes the crime tools will allow him to keep an eye out for danger when he heads out into the world.
"Crime seems to be increasing and that's concerning for everyone," he said.