A bank robbery, an assault with a baseball bat and the theft of copper from an abandoned physciatric facility are all crimes that occured in Eldersburg and Sykesville between Jan. 14 and Jan. 26 of this year. 

While these crimes could have occured anywhere, they in fact happened in the backyard of local residents. 

All but the bank robbery suspect were caught and charged according to their crimes, with the local Sykesville Police Department, the Carroll County Sheriff's Department and the Maryland State Police from the Westminster Barrack all working in the Eldersburg and Sykesville area to cut down on such crimes. 

While statistics show that the area has historically had a low crime rate, recent incidents may show a change in this trend. 

What do you think? Is crime an increasing problem in the area or was the recent string of incidents a coincidence? What do you think could be done to cut down on the number of area thefts?