White Marsh: County Exec 'Will Be Talking With Mall Leadership'

PERRY HALL, MD — The county executive weighed in on security at White Marsh Mall, issuing a statement the day after hundreds of Perry Hall residents gathered for a town hall meeting about public safety in their community. Crime at White Marsh shopping venues was one of the issues discussed, after three violent episodes since August led to juvenile arrests, including last weekend.

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski said that he and Baltimore County Police Chief Terrence Sheridan were taking action to secure White Marsh Mall.

“To that end, I will be talking with mall leadership and will ask them to develop a clear and specific policy on unsupervised youth," Olszweski said in a statement on Friday, Jan. 4.

"Every person deserves to feel safe in their community," Olszewski said in a statement. "Chief Sheridan and I are actively discussing additional measures to engage residents and address concerns about crime."

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Residents at Thursday night's town hall meeting said they were also worried about their vehicles being broken into, sometimes multiple times, in their own neighborhoods.

"As we work to keep our communities safe, we will not point fingers but instead work in collaboration with our partners in the Baltimore region to address public safety concerns," said Olszewski in a statement.

Councilman David Marks organized the public safety forum in Perry Hall with Senator Kathy Klausmeier.

With more than 400 residents packed into St. Michael Lutheran Church on Thursday, Jan. 3, Marks said it was "one of the largest community gatherings I have ever attended."

He live-streamed the town hall on his Facebook page on Thursday, Jan. 3:

Marks, who lives in Perry Hall, said the county council may try to force the hand of the White Marsh Mall to adopt a youth escort policy after several chaotic incidents.

The council unanimously passed a resolution in November suggesting customers under 18 be accompanied by a 21-plus adult on Fridays and Saturdays after 5 p.m. and hoped in doing so that the mall would enact that policy.

Police said three juveniles were charged with offenses ranging from assault to destruction of property Saturday night between the White Marsh Mall and The Avenue at White Marsh.

In September, shots were fired and a man was stabbed outside The Avenue at White Marsh.

In August, nine people were charged after another disturbance drew police to the area outside the White Marsh Mall; seven of those arrested were juveniles.

But shopping centers were not the only place crime was happening, residents said at the town hall meeting. They recalled how in broad daylight Officer Amy Caprio, 29, was killed in a Perry Hall neighborhood as she investigated a report of suspicious persons and burglaries in the area. Four teens are awaiting trial in that case.

File photo of White Marsh Mall by Elizabeth Janney.