The city of Frederick has a reputation for being a safe community, but a slight uptick in crime has been reported so far this year.  "We are seeing some increases from last year in a number of categories," says Police Chief Kim Dine. "Specifically in areas of theft and some assaults as well."

In particular, Dine says there's been an increase in thefts from motor vehicles. He says some residents leave their personal belongings inside their cars in plain view. "I think the sense of security here ends up working against us," he says. "We see a lot of thefts from vehicles when the vehicles aren't even locked. And that's not helpful because sometimes folks will just move through neighborhoods; they'll try to the doors. If the door's locked, they'll move on. If the door's open, they may end up in the car." The Chief urges all residents to lock their vehicles, and either hide valuables out of sight, or take them inside.

However, the Chief notes the long term trend for crime in Frederick is pointing downward.  "We've had an excellent record over the last ten years of continued  crime reduction  in most catetories, " he says.

Despite this slight increase, Dine says the Department continues to work hard on crime prevention, as well as locking up suspects. He says this is especially true when it comes to drug crimes and gangs. In the past, Frederick Police won a grant to instruct the community about methamphetamine. He says there are no meth labs in the city, and he wants to keep it that way. Earlier this month, Drug Enforcement Unit Officers arrested a Brunswick man for manufacturing methamphetamine in Frederick.

The Chief also says the Department works with GREAT {Gang Resistance Education And Training} program to discourage young people from joining gangs. He says it's a school-based program to help kids withstand the lure of gangs, and build up self-esteem. So far, 3,000 young people have gone through the GREAT program.

But Dine says officers will not let up when it comes to making arrests. "If you're committing a crime, whether you're in a gang or not, we're going to work as hard as we can to lock you up," the Chief says.

He notes that a majority of the suspects arrested by the Department are not from out of the area. He says 97% are from Frederick County.