Mission
The Crime Control Committee strives to make Federal Hill South a safer place for our residents to live, and for pedestrians to walk. Our goal is to make citizens fully aware of the types of crimes happening throughout the area, so that they may take steps to prevent such crimes from recurring. We also work to achieve crime prevention through environmental design, by ensuring that city streetlights are working properly and lighting our sidewalks, by encouraging neighbors to light up their homes and watch out for one another, by trimming trees and shadowy shrubbery, and by having graffiti removed to show ours is a conscientious community that cares. Finally, our Citizens on Patrol add friendly pedestrian and canine traffic to our streets to deter criminal activity of all kinds.
Activities
Citizens on Patrol walk the neighborhood on the first Thursday of each month at 8pm. Friendly dogs are welcome and encouraged to tag along with their owners. We meet in front of Porter's at the corner of Riverside and Cross, and split-up into groups of three and four to walk and check the alleys, while accounting for new graffiti, broken or "cycling" streetlights and popular loitering spots. After we walk for about 30-45 minutes, we meet back up at Porter’s for a drink and some socializing, and we discuss ways the Crime Committee can further help reduce and prevent crimes in our community.
Upcoming Events
The Citizens and Dogs on Patrol walk schedule for 2005-2006 will be:
Thursday, October 6th at 8pm
Thursday, November 3rd at 8pm
Thursday, December 1st at 8pm
Thursday, January 5th at 8pm
Thursday, February 2nd at 8pm
Thursday, March 2nd at 8pm
Thursday, April 6th at 8pm
Thursday, May 4th at 8pm
Please meet in front of Porter's at the corner of Riverside and Cross Streets.
Stay Safe Tips:
- Leave an outside light on all night long (both front and back) to promote safer sidewalks and pedestrian corridors, especially for those who park blocks from their house and must walk home late at night.
- When you travel, ask a neighbor to pick up your mail and your newspapers so that your house does not look so unoccupied.
- Leave your car empty of all items, including change, CD’s, sunglasses, loose office papers, so that you do not tempt petty thieves. Larceny from autos is the most prevalent crime in our neighborhood.
- Trim the trees and shrubs near your home in order to remove hiding places and shadowy spots. This will deter unwanted loitering near your home.
- Report broken and “cycling” streetlights by calling the 311 Call Center. The Call Center operator will give you a case number so that you can track the repair. The only way the streetlights will be fixed is if we report them.
- Call 911 to report anything suspicious on your street. The police encourage all of us to be careful and watchful in our own neighborhoods. If we simply ignore suspicious persons and activities, we allow the perpetrators to commit their crimes.
- Take the safest and most well lit routes when walking or jogging in the evenings. Avoid alleys and less traveled streets. Consider exercising with a partner to be safe.
- When walking home from local bars and restaurants late at night, try to walk home with a friend, or even consider taking a taxi, even just a few blocks.
- Bring bicycles and loose items inside, and if you do have a rear courtyard, make sure to place a lock on your gate so that your grill and outdoor patio furniture remains safe.
- Get to know your neighbors and talk to each other about your concerns. Watch out for each other and exchange phone numbers. Sit on your stoops together and bring a positive and neighborly presence to your block.
Crime Statistics
Visit the Baltimore Police Department's crime mapping system
Instructions for using the crime mapping system:
- After reading the disclaimer and Restriction of Use, click "OK"
- Under number 1, search by neighborhood by clicking there.
- Under number 2, select the Southern police district.
- Then select the Federal Hill/Montgomery neighborhood.
- Under number 3, select the dates you are interested in. Note the information is only available for the past 90 days, with a 14 day maximum duration.
- Under number 4, select the type of crime you are interested in. It defaults to "all crime types".
- Click on the "Start Search" icon under number 5.
- The crime map will be displayed
Join the Crime Control Committee
To join this committee please contact Chairman To join this Committee, please contact Crime Committee Chair, Richard Ives: