FREDERICK, Md. — For the first time in nine-years, Frederick County is experiencing a spike in overall crime.
According to a Uniform Crime Report taken between 2021 and 2022, the County saw a combined 32 percent increase in Part 1 offenses.
Those include homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, arson, burglary, and auto-theft.
During that timeframe such offenses increased by 376, equating to 2.28 crimes committed per 1,000 Frederick County residents.
This despite a hike in arrests, traffic stops and citations. Throughout that time period, the Sheriff's Office reported an 85 percent uptick in juvenile arrests.
Only two categories took a downturn over the previous two-years.
Homicides decreased by one year-over-year, from three in 2021, to two in 2022.
The other was motor vehicle thefts that went down by 14 year-over-year, from 62 in 2021, to 48 in 2022.
Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins placed some blame on recent police reform legislation, that he feels has caused some fear among officers to do their jobs.
“The war against law enforcement through over-reaching police reform legislation has had a negative impact as well, causing some law enforcement to be less proactive fearing unjust consequences for their actions," said Jenkins. "Anyone who believes that soft on crime policies and not prosecuting criminals is beneficial to a community is delusional. We are seeing nationwide that this does not work."
The report also shows the county's population increased by 8,638 (3.2 percent) from 2021 to 2022, which contributed to a 2.2 percent increase in calls for service.
