Manassas crime declines in 2007

The crime rate in Manassas reached a five-year low in 2007 despite what the chief of police said he believes is a perception among residents that crime is more rampant than ever.

"I suspect if you ask anyone in the City of Manassas about crime … many would say crime is high and 'I can't remember when crime was worse,' " police Chief John J. Skinner said as he discussed last year's crime statistics Thursday morning.

That perception, he said, likely comes largely from the 24-hour news cycle that has crime almost always holding a top slot but doesn't accurately reflect the current state of crime in the city.

Based on serious and violent crimes that were reported, the crime index decreased from 35 crimes per 1,000 persons to 33, according to department statistics.

Among the crimes that decreased was robbery, which had for a couple of years proved to be one of the greatest and fastest-growing problems facing police departments in both the city and Prince William County.

Just as in 2006, most of the 60 robberies reported in 2007 were street robberies against Hispanics, Skinner said.

A special problems unit that focuses on tactical, street-level operations was formed in response to the rise in street robberies that helped lead to the 18 percent drop from the 73 reported in 2006.

Two homicides occurred in 2007, the same as the year before.

Closure rates for the other crimes were not available because the complete annual statistical report is still undergoing some "fine tuning," but police said arrests were made in both cases.

Up from 2006 were forcible rapes, which increased from 11 to 14; burglaries, 163 to 185; and aggravated assaults, 89 to 91, Skinner said.

In about 95 percent of the rapes the victim knows the attacker, Skinner said, adding that he didn't know of any outstanding cases in which the rape was committed at random.

The total number of offenses also declined, Skinner said, dropping from 5,017 in 2006 to 4,656 in 2007.

Of the 4,656 crimes reported, 2,896 arrests were made, representing a 9 percent decrease from the previous year.

Contributing to that was a combination of fewer reported crimes and an under-staffed police department.

Right now the department is staffed with 92 sworn officers, Skinner said. Ten of the 50 who are assigned to the patrol services division are in training.

"We continue to work short-staffed on the streets," Skinner said. "You lose 20 percent of your workforce and [there is going to be an] impact."

In order to institute the 287(g) program, Skinner said three additional officers would be needed to carry out illegal immigration enforcement.

Those officers, he said, would work under the supervisor of the special problems unit, who recently graduated from a four-week training course on federal immigration enforcement.

The department is also requesting that city council allow for an additional detective position and two patrol officer positions, he said.

Other statistics released Thursday:

• Simple assaults decreased 16 percent in 2007, from 302 to 255.

• Other offenses lumped into the category of incident-based reports, which include everything from drug arrests to hit-and-run accidents, dropped 5

percent, from 3,313 to 3,145.

• Larcenies dropped 14 percent, from 936 in 2006 and 801 in 2007.

• Property crimes make up 87 percent of all reported index crimes in the city and serious and violent crimes make up the remaining 13

percent.

• 7,300 parking tickets were issued, a 12 percent decrease from 2006.

• Police made 160 driving while

intoxicated arrests, representing a 27 percent decrease.

• There was a 6 percent increase in calls for service with 61,731 and a 9 percent increase in officer-initiated calls with 34,439.