May 7, 2009 6:32 pm US/Eastern
Edgewood Community Strengthens Fight Against Crime
EDGEWOOD, Md. (WJZ) ―
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The sheriff of Edgewood, along with county leaders and some of the people who live in the community, are making headway in slowing the previously high crime there.
Edgewood has long been Harford County's most notoriously violent neighborhood.
But as
Derek Valcourt reports, the sheriff, county leaders and some of the people who live in that community say they're making headway in slowing the crime there.
Drugs, gangs and murders are all common crime headlines in Edgewood.
Cab driver and father of nine Derald Guess was murdered by a teen as part of a gang initiation rite.
A carjacking was caught on camera where the car owner was nearly killed when he raced to his car to stop the crime.
Then there's Samuel Horne who was shot to death two years ago along Brookside Drive in Edgewood.
His killer, Sean Nelson Smith, has already been convicted and Horne's mother is now a community activist.
"We're fighting to make Edgewood the American dream town that it once was," said Mildred Samy, victim's mother.
"We just changed the way we police this area after I took office," said Sheriff Jesse Bane.
In just two-and-a-half years, Sheriff Bane increased foot patrols and cracked down on gangs and drugs.
"I hired a crime analyst, and we started plotting, we started predicting, we started deploying based on what the data was telling us," said Bane.
The data says murders are going down, with none so far in 2009. Assaults are also down; robberies are about the same.
"I kinda hate to talk about it because I don't want to jinx anything, but this has been a fairly quiet area that we are walking through right now," said Bane.
At the local Boys and Girls Club, they're already noticing a change in attitude.
"What I've seen here in my short time is kids running to the police officers, instead of running away from them," said Randy Acosta, Boys and Girls Club executive director.
More changes are coming with $280,000 already invested in Harford County's first crime cameras.
They're not unlike the ones already fighting crime in Baltimore.
Some are praising Edgewood's changes.
"It has had a drastic effect in the area, and we are very happy," said Councilman Dion Guthrie.
Others say it may be too early to celebrate.
"It's gotten some better, but it still has a long ways to go," said resident Charles Higgins.
Sheriff Bane says he hopes Edgewood's new crime cameras will be installed within the next few months.
There will be six cameras in the first installment.
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