Towson crime data overview: 2024–2026
Sources: Baltimore County Government, Open Data; Public Crime Data, Baltimore County Public Crime Data and Baltimore County crime-statistics information.
Crime recorded across Towson ZIP codes 21204 and 21286 is trending downward overall.
Because 2026 is incomplete, the fairest comparison is January through August of each year.
Overall crime
Period | Offense records | Change | Counted victims | Change |
Jan.–Aug. 2024 | 3,005 | — | 3,227 | — |
Jan.–Aug. 2025 | 2,795 | −7.0% | 3,037 | −5.9% |
Jan.–Aug. 2026 | 2,570 | −8.1% | 2,752 | −9.4% |
From the first eight months of 2024 through the same period of 2026:
Offense records declined 14.5%.
Counted victims declined 14.7%.
The area recorded 435 fewer offense records than during the same period in 2024.
For the two completed years,
offense records fell from 4,624 in 2024 to 4,239 in 2025, a decrease of 8.3%.
Crime by broad classification
Classification | 2024 YTD | 2025 YTD | 2026 YTD | 2026 YoY |
Property | 2,166 | 1,984 | 1,877 | −5.4% |
Person | 556 | 575 | 503 | −12.5% |
Society | 280 | 233 | 182 | −21.9% |
Unclassified | 3 | 3 | 8 | — |
Total | 3,005 | 2,795 | 2,570 | −8.1% |
The 2026 decline was broad-based: property offenses, offenses against people and offenses against society all decreased.
Trends that stand out
1. Shoplifting is moving against the overall trend
Shoplifting declined in 2025 but rose sharply in 2026:
Offense | 2024 YTD | 2025 YTD | 2026 YTD | 2026 YoY |
Shoplifting | 785 | 733 | 799 | +9.0% |
Shoplifting accounted for approximately 31% of all 2026 offense records. It is now slightly above its 2024 level, despite total crime being nearly 15% lower.
2. Simple assaults declined, but aggravated assaults remain elevated
Offense | 2024 YTD | 2025 YTD | 2026 YTD | 2026 YoY |
Simple assault | 442 | 428 | 369 | −13.8% |
Aggravated assault | 57 | 80 | 81 | +1.3% |
The drop in simple assaults is encouraging. However, aggravated assaults increased sharply between 2024 and 2025 and remained at that higher level in 2026.
3. Motor-vehicle theft has fallen considerably
Motor-vehicle theft declined from 128 cases in 2024 to 108 in 2025 and 75 in 2026.
That represents:
A 30.6% decline from 2025 to 2026
A 41.4% decline over two years
This is one of the strongest sustained improvements in the dataset.
4. Theft from vehicles rebounded
Theft from motor vehicles dropped from 109 cases in 2024 to 71 in 2025, but increased to 93 in 2026.
That is a 31% year-over-year increase, although the 2026 level remains approximately 15% below 2024.
5. Several other major categories declined
Offense category | 2024 YTD | 2025 YTD | 2026 YTD | 2026 YoY |
Vandalism/property destruction | 321 | 268 | 256 | −4.5% |
Drug/narcotic offenses | 241 | 179 | 144 | −19.6% |
Fraud | 285 | 263 | 209 | −20.5% |
Robbery | 49 | 56 | 46 | −17.9% |
Burglary | 73 | 67 | 65 | −3.0% |
Forcible sex offenses | 42 | 44 | 31 | −29.5% |
Weapons violations | 27 | 41 | 21 | −48.8% |
Differences between Towson’s two ZIP codes
ZIP code | 2024 YTD | 2025 YTD | 2026 YTD | 2026 YoY |
21204 | 1,475 | 1,439 | 1,235 | −14.2% |
21286 | 1,530 | 1,356 | 1,335 | −1.5% |
Most of the 2026 improvement came from 21204, which recorded 204 fewer offenses than in 2025. Crime in 21286 was essentially flat, declining by only 21 records.
Recent monthly movement
Despite the favorable year-to-date total, the most recent months were less consistent:
June 2026 was 13.6% higher than June 2025.
July was 10.9% lower.
August was 2.3% higher.
August’s counted-victim total was almost unchanged: 335 in 2026 versus 338 in 2025. This suggests the longer-term trend remains downward, but the decline has not occurred evenly every month.
Source
Source & Methodology: Totals use offense records categorized under the dataset’s YEAR and MONTH fields. “Counted victims” uses the dataset’s NIBRS_VICTIM_COUNT, which can exceed the number of records when one offense involves multiple victims. September 2026 was excluded because it is incomplete, and the live dataset may be revised. Source: Baltimore County Public Crime Data and Baltimore County crime-statistics information.
Don’t Miss the Towson Growth Summit on 9/30/26 at Goucher College
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