The Baltimore County Police Department is 6 1/2 months behind in compiling official countywide crime statistics, a time lag department officials blame on Year 2000 computer modifications.

The delay has caused concern among members of the County Council, which in its 2002-2003 budget message urged the department to speed the process.

The statistics - which measure crimes such as homicide, rape, robbery and vehicle theft - are voluntarily given to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to allow the bureau to track national crime trends. The statistics are also used by local officials to compare county crime trends with previous years and other jurisdictions.

The data are supposed to be released four times a year, but the last completed statistics are from September.

Bill Toohey, a police spokesman, said the delay started in late 1999 when the department bought new computer software to replace software that was not Y2K compliant. Before then, he added, the department typically had a 1 1/2 -month delay in compiling data.

The changeover forced analysts to enter crime data into the old and new software for the last few months of 1999 - creating a backlog that continues.

To make matters worse, the $580,000 software program has had some glitches that have further slowed the process. Toohey declined to estimate when the department would catch up.

"As we enter data in the new system, we check it two or three times to make sure everything is accurate," Toohey said. "In some cases we found the new software had bugs, and this is not unusual for new software."

The delay affects only crime data sent to the FBI. The department has updated unofficial statistics that police commanders use to develop crime-fighting strategies and deploy resources where they are needed, Toohey said.

But some council members were alarmed this year when Chief Terrence B. Sheridan distributed year-old statistics when he went before them to answer questions on the proposed Police Department budget.

In its budget message, the council said: "The Council is concerned about the timeliness of these reports [and] requests that the Department prepare future reports on a timelier basis and supply copies of the reports to the Council as soon as they are available."

"The council is approving a lot of contracts for the Police Department, and we sort of like to see the impact the grants are having on crime," said county auditor Brian J. Rowe, who works for the council. "If you are not getting that information it is hard to see."

Rowe, who helped craft the council's message, said he believes the department is "on top of crime" but said the council needs updated statistics so it can evaluate the success of crime initiatives.

Kerry Lauricella, the director for the National Association of Cities, said elected officials depend on statistics to make budget decisions.

"If we are in the dark, we are taking their word for it, and that is not good enough," said Lauricella, who is also a city councilman in Harahan, La.

Toohey said council members can receive the same updated, unofficial statistics the police use by requesting them from precinct commanders. The major difference between unofficial and official statistics is that some crimes categorized one way on unofficial reports could be recategorized on official reports, Toohey said.

Sunspot

-- Anonymous, June 10, 2002