Baltimore, Maryland Police News Service

The Baltimore County Police Department announced this week that it is now providing a weekly online news resource, including a crime blotter, for each of its 10 precincts.

The precinct officers supply content for the pages, including a summary of crimes listed on their weekly significant crimes reports.

The precinct web pages will not be used to provide breaking news alerts, but each page includes precinct-level contact information.

Precinct 1/Wilkens http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/precinct1

Precinct 2/Woodlawn - http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/precinct2

Precinct 3/Franklin - http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/precinct3

Precinct 4/Pikesville - http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/precinct4

Precinct 6/Towson - http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/precinct6

Precinct 7/Cockeysville - http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/precinct7

Precinct 8/Parkville - http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/precinct8

Precinct 9/White Marsh - http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/precinct9

Precinct 11/Essex - http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/precinct11

Precinct 12/North Point - http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/precinct12

Department officials said that communities accustomed to receiving local crime information from precinct captains through email distribution lists will continue to receive communication from those officers.

Elise Armacost, director of media and communications for Baltimore County Public Safety, said the new pages were not a direct response to the brief controversy surrounding the weekly emailed crime reports that have been sent to residents from the Towson precinct for several years.

"The issue of precinct-level news is something we've been looking at for months because we know people want this information," Armacost said.

"The goal is not to make every precinct a carbon copy of the other," she said. "Each precinct is different, each captain is different and they will be providing the content. ... There's going to be variation in pages. … But at minimum, we want to provide weekly crime blotter information to every precinct.

"As it is, some of our residents are getting that. In Towson they were, but there are residents of other precincts that were not getting it," Armacost said. "By making this information available on our website, we're making it available to many, many more people than it has been."

The pages also include a "news you can use" section about upcoming police events, crime prevention tips, police fund raisers, planned road closures and accomplishments by local precinct officers.

Officials said that posting community police news at http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/police is an attempt to make information available to all citizens.

The Fire Department Twitter feed is http://www.twitter.com/BACOfiredept and the Emergency Management feed is http://www.twitter.com/BACOemergency.

Robocalls: To file a complaint.

FTC Consumer Alert

Robocalls are Illegal: Scammers Use False Caller IDs to Hide

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, along with state and local law enforcement agencies, and consumer organizations across the country, are getting complaints from consumers about unsolicited robocalls. At the same time, individuals and businesses that have nothing to do with blasting the illegal robocalls are being blamed for these calls because their phone numbers are being misused by unscrupulous telemarketers.

Robocalls are prerecorded telephone calls. Robocalls pitching goods or services are illegal unless you've given the caller express permission to call you. And, says the FTC, in addition to the phone calls being illegal, most likely, their pitch is a scam. In fact, the FTC is cracking down on illegal robocalls offering fraudulent credit card services, and so-called auto warranty protection, home security systems, and grant procurement programs.

Fraudulent telemarketers often manipulate Caller ID information to hide their identity. In some cases, the fraudulent telemarketer may want you to think the call is from your bank, or another entity you've done business with. Sometimes, the telephone number may show up as "unknown" or "123456789." Other times, the number is a real one belonging to someone who has no idea his or her number is being misused.

If you have Caller ID, you can choose not to answer calls from numbers you don't recognize. Should you answer the phone and find yourself listening to an illegal robocall, hang up. Get the Caller ID information if you can, and file a complaint immediately with:

• Federal Trade Commission
• Your state Attorney General

For more information, see New Rules for Robocalls.


The FTC works to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint or get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. Watch a video, How to File a Complaint, at ftc.gov/video to learn more. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

February 2012