When light rail came to Anne Arundel County last year, there were high expectations for the commuter line linking the county to points north.
Now some residents near light rail stops have soured on the idea. They say the trains bring outsiders who commit crimes in their community. In Linthicum, a community association that voted for light rail service last year now wants its station closed.
Kun Lee, owner of Champion Liquors in the Cromwell Field shopping center, said he expected business to increase when the Cromwell Station light rail stop opened. Instead, he said, he had to build a 6-inch platform to raise his sales counter, giving him a better view of potential shoplifters.
He said many of his elderly customers are afraid and have gone elsewhere to shop.
"They said, 'It's always danger
ous, I don't want to come back to the shopping center,' " he said.
Crime and light rail have become the county's hottest political issues this year. Some Republican hopefuls have seized upon the issue, going so far as to call for an effort to protect the county's borders.
Though police say crime in neighborhoods surrounding the light rail stops has increased since service began, most incidents in
volve petty thefts, shoplifting and stolen bicycles, though there have been a few well-publicized assaults.
Police also say their statistics are inconclusive as to whether light rail is to blame, or whether Baltimore residents intent on commiting crimes ride the trains into the county.
All that can be said about the highly publicized April 23 stabbing of a woman at the North Linthicum stop is that it happened as she
waited for a train.
At the line's northern end, Baltimore County police say they have witnessed increases in shoplifting, especially from the Yorkridge Shopping Center, and have had a problem with car theft at the Timonium station.
But there's been no great public outcry.
"We haven't had that kind of pressure here," said E. Jay Miller, a police spokesman.
0$ In Anne Arundel, the pressure is
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coming from all sides.
Residents excoriated state Sen. Michael J. Wagner, a light rail supporter, during a raucous May 11 meeting of the Linthicum-Shipley Improvement Association.
That meeting, attended by several Republican lawmakers, included the association's vote to close the station. Local Democratic politicians were not present and complained they were not invited.
County Council Chairman C. Edward Middlebrooks, who recently switched to the Republican party in anticipation of a possible run against Mr. Wagner, has used the issue to hammer the Ferndale Democrat.
"I think clearly Senator Wagner had the opportunity in the last session to do something [about light rail crime], and he did nothing," said Mr. Middlebrooks, whose councilmanic district includes parts of Glen Burnie, Old Mill and Severn.
'Conduit for crime'
Sheriff Robert G. Pepersack Sr. wrote Gov. William Donald Schaefer asking him to issue an executive order closing the Linthicum station.
"I have worked this county as a state trooper for 13 years, and currently as its sheriff, so I know what these people are saying is true," Sheriff Pepersack wrote. "The light rail has become a 'conduit for crime' into our county."
In a fund-raising letter written before the light rail issue erupted, Del. John G. Gary wrote, "We must make protecting our borders against the invasion of violent crime from Baltimore and Prince George's County a top priority.
"The rampant crime in these jurisdictions is poised at our county boundaries," he said. "If I am elected county executive, we will do whatever is necessary to secure our borders and protect our citizens."
When framed in such language, some believe the controversy takes on troubling racial overtones.
But those calling for action say the issue has nothing to do with race. They simply want greater police enforcement.
"I don't think there is any one group involved," Mr. Middlebrooks said. The only common denominator, he said, "is like everywhere, it's a lot of teen-agers."
But Mr. Wagner said Republicans could cynically profit by "us vs. them" rhetoric.
"Historically the black vote goes to the Democrats," Mr. Wagner said. "So maybe [Mr. Middlebrooks] has written them off already, and he's trying to play on the emotions of Republicans and conservative Democrats."
Both Democrats and Republicans agree that crime is a problem near the train stations and that something must be done.
"There obviously has been an influx of people coming from Baltimore, from the north end of the line, and joy riding down here," Mr. Wagner said.
Mr. Middlebrooks said he supports closing stations only as a last resort. Mr. Wagner said it is unrealistic to talk about closing stations. He has formed a committee comprising local resident groups, the Mass Transit Administration and county police to address the problem.
Crime statistics
Light rail became an issue when police analyzed arrest reports for shoplifting at the Caldor department store and Giant supermarket at the Cromwell Field Shopping Center, across the street from the Cromwell Station light rail stop. Shoplifting arrests at Caldor more than doubled in 1993 over the previous year, and increased ten-fold at Giant.
Police responded by creating the Light Rail Enforcement Initiative on May 4 with officers assigned to the stations and the surrounding area.
Since then, the task force has arrested 109 people, 65 from Baltimore, about 60 percent; the other 40 percent were county residents.
There have been 29 drug-related arrests, and officers working the detail have recovered more than $3,100 in property.
Robbery and narcotics violations increased by 15 percent and 34 percent respectively in the year since light rail opened, but overall crime in the Northern District,
where all five stations are located, dropped by 4 percent.
At the Roy Rogers restaurant across from the Cromwell Station stop, light rail riders are welcomed with a 10 percent discount if they show their ticket.
"Luckily, we don't have anything out for them to take," said general manager Cathy Kelley. "We get a few bad apples in here once in a while. So far, we've been OK."
Community leaders blame both the Mass Transit Administration, which runs the light rail, and their state legislative delegation for not acting sooner to address crime and the community's fears.
"They could have resolved the problem long ago when they had the opportunity," said Gerald P. Starr, president of the Linthicum-Shipley Improvement Association. "The problem was there six months ago. . . . It's a shame that they waited until a drastic move from the community. They should have reacted sooner to the growing concerns of the community."
Not every Linthicum resident wants the station closed.
"I think it's ridiculous to shut it, because they all wanted it down here to begin with," said Norbert Wheeler. "I can't see why we all should suffer. . . . I really can't see the ethics of that, because it's such a good service."
Honor system
MTA officials say they're cooperating with police to provide the security. Residents are pushing for an end to the honor system -- in which riders don't have to show their tickets when they board, though police make spot checks for violators -- arguing that security would be improved if all riders had to display their tickets before boarding.
But the MTA said there are no plans to abandon the system.
"We believe the honor system works," said Dianna Rosborough, an MTA spokeswoman. "It is the only system that is used on light rails in the country."
MTA officials said they have been unfairly criticized for a slow response to light rail crime.
John A. Agro Jr., MTA administrator, said his agency is about to start The Togeth
er Project, where 60 youths from communities along the light rail line will get summer jobs with MTA.
And within the next couple weeks, the MTA will unveil a plan to increase security at light rail stations, including hiring off-duty police officers from jurisdictions along the line.
"We had started the community initiative long before the community association initiated this call to close the station," Mr. Agro said. MTA officers also had been redeployed from other systems to the light rail to add security before any outcry started.
"It has obviously escalated and now we need to respond with a greater response than we did initially," he said. "It's not like we've been sitting back, doing nothing."