Howard County Dedicates Garden Victims of Crime

Between passing rain showers on an unseasonably chilly day, Howard County officials joined people whose lives had been touched by crime to dedicate a garden.

"We dedicate this garden to all victims of crime in Howard County," said Deputy State's Attorney Mary Murphy on Monday.

"We dedicate this garden to those who have lost their lives to a violent act and to those who survive and carry on."

Howard County Executive Ken Ulman and Police Chief William McMahon also spoke at the afternoon ceremony at the Howard County government campus in Ellicott City. Both made efforts to thank the county's victims assistance office and emphasized looking beyond statistics to see victims and survivors as people.

Yes, Howard County is safe, Ulman said, but "we all know in any community there's going to be some level of crime." He said that this garden was a reminder that each statistic "is a person, is a family, that is affected by that act of violence. It is important for all of us collectively to keep that fact in mind as we’re going about the work that we do."

After mentioning that, in most categories, crimes and violent deaths were down in Howard County last year, McMahon told the crowd what several of them—who had lost family members to crime—already knew: "If you’re the victim of a crime, if your family members been taken away from you...it doesn’t matter," he said.

"It doesn’t matter what the crime rate is. It doesn’t matter what the statistics are. It doesn’t matter if robberies are down and less people are dying on our roadways," he said. "It doesn’t matter."