CPT Ethanolic
Gun Packing Liberal
You've been watching too much 24-hour news...
Maryland Crime Index Rates Per 100,000 Inhabitants
Year - Robbery - Assault
2000 - 256.0 - 493.3
2001 - 251.1 - 495.1
2002 - 246.2 - 490.1
2003 - 241.3 - 428.0
2004 - 229.7 - 437.9
2005 - 257.2 - 414.6
2006 - 256.0 - 392.0
2007 - 236.0 - 375.1
2008 - 233.3 - 363.4
2009 - 210.7 - 351.3
2010 - 191.5 - 327.5
A spike around 2005, but since then a steady decline and a decline overall the last ten years.
Possible that there was a big jump in 2011 or even this year, but the general trend is still downward.
Source: http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/mdcrime.htm
24 hr "news" isn't news. It's 24 hr "try to find something to talk about to keep people tuned in while commercials run". It's "shock" news. Everything is an "outrage". This is why viewers of 24 hr news walk around angry all the time. Fox has perfected this. Watch Fox news some evening and you'll think the world is coming to an end. MSNBC will tell you that all conservatives are "racist idiots" and CNN will use a bunch of spiffy graphics to try to hypnotize you.