Local crime dipped in most categories in 2020, and criminal incidents continue to be steady through the first six months of 2021. But the overall crime rate ticked upward last year amid an increase in property crimes and some violent offenses, according to police Chief Peter Newsham and the county’s recently released annual crime report.
The Prince William County Police Department released its 2020 crime report on Friday, July 23. The report states that total calls for service, traffic citations and arrests declined “in part, due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” while some other criminal activity in the county “remained steady or significantly increased.”
Upticks were reported in some categories of violent crimes, including assaults in which there was a significant injury, or an attempt to commit a serious injury, known as “aggravated assaults.” The number of aggravated assaults rose 50% between 2019 and 2020, from 476 to 716. Firearm use in these instances increased from 140 in 2019 to 301 in 2020, an increase of more than 53%.
“Although no definitive cause can be identified for the overall increase, the use of firearms, dangerous weapons, and vehicles to assault intensified in 2020,” the report said.
Crimes against persons, such as homicide, manslaughter, consensual and nonconsensual sex offenses, simple and aggravated assaults, kidnapping and human trafficking fell 10% in 2020. There were eight homicides, the lowest number in the county since 2017, according to the report.
Firearms were used to kill seven of the homicide victims, and one victim was killed by stabbing. All eight murders were cleared with arrests, the report states.
Drug crimes drop as overdoses rise
Drug violations fell 50% in 2020, but drug overdose deaths rose 55%. According to the report, 101 people died of drug overdoses in 2020, up from 65 in 2019. More than 80% of those deaths were fentanyl overdoses, the report said.
“It’s very disturbing to see the number of fatalities that we had that were opioid-related,” Prince William County Police Chief Peter Newsham said during a Friday, July 23 call with reporters. “... Opioid related deaths are as a result of addiction. One of the things I think we need to work with our partners on is ensuring that folks that have these addictions are getting the treatment that they need.”
The total number of arrests in the county fell 32% in 2020. The number of arrests for juveniles fell 52%. Traffic crashes fell 24% and traffic citations fell 43%.
The overall crime rate, which measures the number of serious crimes per 1,000 residents, rose slightly from 11.9 in 2019 to 12 in 2020. Despite the small increase, the crime rate remains near its lowest level in 15 years. The crime rate is based on select crimes and is “not a comprehensive tracking of all offenses,” the report notes.
Crimes against persons drop as property crimes rise
Among crimes categorized as “group A” offenses by the FBI, crimes against persons in Prince William County fell 10.4%, while crimes against society dropped 53.2%.
Property crimes reported in the county, however, rose 5.6%, according to the report.
Crimes included in the “group A” include homicides and other more serious offenses, including animal cruelty, arson, assaults, bribery, burglary, counterfeiting, destruction of property, drug offenses, embezzlement, extortion, fraud, gambling, hacking/computer invasion, human trafficking, identity theft, kidnapping and abduction, larceny, motor vehicle theft, pornography, prostitution, robbery, sex offenses (forcible and non-forcible), stolen property offenses, and weapons law violations.
Annual report includes complaints against officers
For the first time, the police department included information in the annual crime report about community and internal complaints against local police officers.
A total of 78 complaints were made against police officers in 2020. Of those, 35 complaints were made from community members and 43 were internal complaints.
Those complaints resulted in the “disciplinary transfer” of two officers, the resignation of two officers, the suspension of six officers, and 23 written or verbal reprimands, the report said
Newsham: No increase yet for 2021
Newsham said crime has remained low in the first six months of 2021 in Prince William County.
“There is not an increase in crime in Prince William County. When we compare the first six months of 2020 to the first six months of 2021, in almost every category, we saw a reduction,” Newsham said.
But Newsham added there has been a slight uptick in homicides in 2021 over the same period last year. There were five homicides in Prince William County in the first six months of 2021, four of which have been closed with arrests. Newsham said that number is “not inconsistent with numbers that we've had in previous years at the halfway point.”
“With fewer people on the street, we certainly have fewer calls for service than we normally have. So, in all likelihood, it resulted in less crime. And that's why we have to watch 2021 very closely,” Newsham said.
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