Parkville Police Captain Says Crime is Down in May

Crime has fallen in Parkville's Precinct 8 for the second month running according to the police precinct commander, Capt. Thomas Busch.

"Crime is down again; I just looked at my stats — auto theft, burglary, everything is down," Busch said at a recent Police Community Relations Council meeting.

He explained that there had been no auto thefts at all in the two weeks leading up to the May 24 meeting.  The number of burglaries of homes and businesses had also decreased over the previous 28 days.

Busch also addressed concerns voiced by Parkville-Carney residents who attended the meeting. 

Bernie Wallace, of Carney, asked Busch about the legitimacy of several new spas that had opened up along Old Harford Road. 

"I'd just like to know if they are legitimate day spas, or if there's something else going on there," said Wallace.

Busch responded that the matter was under investigation by detectives. 

Another resident brought up the subject of the man who exposed himself to two Carney Elementary School students last month.

She had reported a man driving a red SUV near the site of the original incident some weeks afterward, and was curious about any new leads in the case.

"We never close these cases, they stay open until we catch the person," Busch said.

The captain explained that in the days following the incident, police had interviewed several suspects — including one registered sex offender who lives in the neighborhood — without success. 

"We thought we had one guy, but in a one-on-one interview it turned out not to be him," Busch said.