Emmitsburg has three crime “hot spots”

(9/6) Though Emmitsburg is far from a gotham of crime, it does have a few “hot spots” where more crimes tend to occur.

The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office analyzed the 2251 calls for service in the first seven months of 2007 and mapped them out by location as well as time. The location analysis showed that the area around the downtown square and just east of it, around the community building on South Seton Avenue and the area around Silo Hill.

Mayor James Hoover said he was a little surprised to see that the downtown square was a “hot spot.” “You would think with all the foot traffic on the square that it would be hard to get away with anything.”

The time analysis, which Emmitsburg Commissioner President Chris Staiger had asked about during an Aug. 6 meeting with Sheriff Chuck Jenkins, shows that nearly 40 percent of the town’s crime happens between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. while only 13 percent happens between midnight and 10 a.m.

“It’s no secret that we have a limited amount of deputies,” Hoover said. “Therefore, we’re going to have a limited amount of coverage and people are going to learn when that coverage is.”

The three greatest numbers of calls for service for sheriff’s deputies patrolling Emmitsburg have been patrol checks (826/36.7%), traffic stops (416/18.5%) and talks/crime prevention/community (200/8.9%).

Together, these three account for nearly two-third of the calls for service in town.

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m surprised,” Hoover said. “I really didn’t see anything shocking to me.”