PRINCE FREDERICK — Calvert County residents were less than half as likely to have a crime reported in their community last year as Marylanders overall, but the county no longer holds the state’s lowest crime rate.
State’s Attorney Robert H. Harvey Jr. said Monday that Calvert recorded 1,807 crime incidents per 100,000 residents in 2025, the third-lowest rate among Maryland counties. Only Carroll and Kent counties were lower. The statewide rate was 3,904 per 100,000.
Harvey’s office attributed the figures to the NIBRS Crime Reporting Dashboard published by the Maryland State Police. In a brief news release, the office said Calvert “remained one of the safest places to live in the State of Maryland.”
From first to third
The new numbers mark a change from a year ago. In January 2025, Harvey reported that Calvert had the lowest crime rate of any Maryland jurisdiction in 2024, at 1,634 incidents per 100,000 residents against a state rate of 3,771.
| Incidents per 100,000 residents | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calvert County | 1,634 | 1,807 | +10.6% |
| Maryland | 3,771 | 3,904 | +3.5% |
| Calvert’s state rank | Lowest | Third-lowest |
Measured that way, Calvert’s rate climbed about three times as fast as the state’s between the two years. The county’s rate was roughly 43% of the statewide figure in 2024 and about 46% in 2025.
Monday’s release did not address the increase or say which categories of crime drove it. Harvey offered one clue earlier this year. In his office’s 2025 annual report, he wrote that the overall crime rate stayed low compared with other Maryland jurisdictions but that the county saw a rise in violent crimes committed by people younger than 18.
What the number does and doesn’t show
NIBRS, the National Incident-Based Reporting System, counts incidents that police agencies record and report. It is not a tally of arrests, prosecutions or convictions, and it cannot capture crimes that are never reported. A rate per 100,000 residents allows comparison among counties of different sizes; with a population of roughly 95,000, Calvert’s rate works out to somewhat fewer actual incidents than the 1,807 figure suggests.
The release also ranks Calvert among Maryland’s counties. Last year’s announcement compared it with all 23 counties and Baltimore City.
The crime rate does not describe everything prosecutors handle. Harvey told county commissioners in October that his office had seen about 179 domestic violence cases so far in 2026, calling it the second most common type of crime in the county behind impaired driving.
Residents, for their part, have told the county they feel secure. A community survey released last fall put satisfaction with overall safety at 75%, up two points from the previous survey.
The State Police dashboard is updated as agencies submit data, so 2025 figures can shift. Harvey’s office typically publishes its annual report, with a fuller accounting of the prior year’s cases, in January.
