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| County jail holding more inmates |
| By washingtonexaminer.com |
| Published: 10/08/2009 |
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The number of inmates at Montgomery County's main jail has grown by nearly 7 percent thanks partly to a changing criminal landscape that includes more gang members and pack robberies, according to county officials. The population at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Boyds averaged 731 inmates during the year ending in August, which is about 46 inmates higher than the same period the previous year and about a 15 percent jump from the average in 2005. The facility holds inmates awaiting trial and those sentenced to up to 18 months in prison. Arthur Wallenstein, director of the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, said the growing numbers are due to an increase in gang activity and a trend of pack robberies, which police describe as crimes committed mostly by groups of young men who steal cash or electronic devices from individuals by force or threat of force. "The police are bringing in multiple defendants in robbery crimes that historically there have only been one defendant," Wallenstein said. A "significant number" of pack robberies include gang members, according to Capt. David Gillespie, head of the county's special investigations division. Police identified 10 gang-related robberies in the first quarter of this year and 46 last year, according to statistics. But Gillespie said the department doesn't always have enough evidence to identify gang-related pack robberies as such. Read More. |
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