BARRIE & GARY: LET’S DISCUSS SALISBURY’S CRIME RATE – AND YOUR APOLOGY

A slight decrease in the crime rate might be meaningful – if the level were low to begin with. But, that’s certainly not the case in Salisbury according to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Justice based on reports by local police departments.

The data is tabulated for various types of violent crime and property crime. In 2007, of Maryland’s 15 largest cities, Salisbury had the highest or 2nd highest rate in 7 of the 9 categories.

In violent crime, Salisbury had the highest rate overall and in forcible rape and aggravated assault; also it was 2nd highest in robbery. What’s really scary is that the violent crime rate in Salisbury is significantly greater than in Baltimore City.

In property crime, Salisbury had the 2nd highest overall rate in Maryland; Hyattsville had the highest rate. Salisbury had the highest burglary rate and 2nd highest larceny theft rate. Except for Hyattsville, Salisbury’s property crime rate is much higher than elsewhere in Maryland.

As a 2nd check on things, we pulled the data for towns in Delaware of similar size; Salisbury’s crime rate was higher, often much higher, in each of the 9 categories. The data for both Maryland and Delaware appear in the attached tables.

The historical data also show that the crime rate here has not decreased during the years of the Tilghman administration, and that it seems to have reached a permanently high rate, albeit slightly lower (5-10%) in some years, but then higher again in others. Thus, to suggest that a small decrease is meaningful is simply nonsense.

Once again Barrie Tilghman and Gary Comegys owe Salisbury residents a formal apology for trying to scam them about the crime situation. More to come on this later today.