Spanish for: Carroll County is located adjacent to Baltimore, Howard, and Frederick counties and is bordered by Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 census, the population is approximately 151,000 with 17,000 of those living in Westminster. Most of the county is suburban and rural and limited gang activity is primarily in the city of Westminster.
As in many jurisdictions in Maryland, gangs are an emerging problem in Carroll County, primarily in Westminster. Police gather information from a variety of sources but it is hard to identify all of the gangs and gang members in the area and to get an accurate picture of how much gang-related crime exists. Gang information is often gathered as a supplemental to other investigations focusing on drug crimes.
Gang-related crimes have increased in Carroll County including drug related crimes, robberies, assaults, thefts and malicious destruction of property. Police have identified 9 gangs with approximately 77 active members. These gangs include Crips with 45 confirmed members, Bloods with a membership of 12 and several other gangs with a membership of less than 5 members each.
If a parent is concerned about a child as potentially being involved in gangs, the first resource is the child’s school counselor or pupil personnel worker. For a list of school telephone numbers, please consult list of schools.
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