Crime & Safety

Baltimore County Malls Removing EcoATMs

The machines allow users to exchange old cellphones for cash.

General Growth Properties, which owns the Towson Town Center, Owings Mills Mall and White Marsh Mall, have agreed to remove EcoATM recycling kiosks by 2014, according to an email from Baltimore County Councilman David Marks.

The kiosks, which exchange cash for cellphones, have been criticized as providing an incentive for robberies.

"In the Towson area, students and longtime residents have been burglarized by criminals targeting cell phones, iPods, and other items," Councilman Marks said in a news release. "There are concerns that these kiosks make it easier for criminals to quickly recycle these materials, and I applaud for General Growth Properties for removing them from their Baltimore County locations."

Find out what's happening in Pikesvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Earlier this year the Baltimore City Council voted to ban the kiosks in city limits. At that time a bill banning machines was supposed to be introduced in the county, but Marks decided not to introduce the bill because county law enforcement officials told him the machines were not an issue.

There have been several recent crimes where robbers targeted residents for their cellphones.   

Find out what's happening in Pikesvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.