Thurmont vandalism incidents increasing
Ingrid Mezo
(10/12) The number of vandalism incidents in Thurmont is already higher this
year than it was in all of 2005.
Other areas in northern Frederick County, such as Walkersville, have also seen
a rash of vandalism incidents this year.
According to Thurmont Police Department statistics, 79 calls for vandalism or
malicious destruction of property have occurred so far this year. That is 23
more calls than all of last year, and five more than 2004.
That number compares to the 46 incidents of vandalism that the Frederick County
Sheriff’s Office responded to in 2006, just five short of all of 2005.
Most of the destruction of property involving minors that the Thurmont Police
Department handled occurred in July, with 14 such calls answered that month.
Eleven of the incidents involved minors.
Carrie Struckman, the Thurmont Police Department’s office manager, said that
some of the incidents had not been tied to any ‘‘certain” suspect, so a minor
could or could not be involved.
Thurmont Police Chief Greg Eyler pointed to why he believes the rate of
vandalism increases in the summer: ‘‘July and August is when school’s out,” he
said. ‘‘I think the kids right now are bored, and don’t have anything to do.”
Statistics from the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office show the highest number
of youth vandalism, 13, occurring in March. Thurmont’s numbers for March was
also high, 14, but only one incident was tied to minors.
Thurmont vandalism incidents increasing
The Sheriff’s Office arrested nine minors in February, and seven minors in
June, but less in the months when such incidents had gone up in Thurmont.
Cpl. Jennifer Bailey, Sheriff’s Office’s spokeswoman, said that the statistics
only include arrests made by the Sheriff’s Office, not other police
departments, such as Brunswick, the Maryland State Police, or Frederick City.
While youth associations and the county provides many activities in which
children can participate, such as sports and extracurricular art activities,
Eyler said he believed attendance has dropped in recent years.
‘‘When Bill [Blakeslee] and I were Little League coaches, kids came out all the
time,” Eyler said. ‘‘You just don’t find the interest anymore in playing
sports.”
‘‘When kids go back to school, it slows down a little,” Eyler said.
But he also pointed out that children go back to school in September, the month
that had the third highest number of vandalism incidents this year. ‘‘When
spring comes, it picks up again, like everything else does,” Eyler said.
