Manassas Crime Rate Drops to 5-Year Low

Offenses Decline More Than 7 Percent Despite Staffing Shortage in Police Force

Ask Manassas residents, and the perception is probably that crime is rising around them, that they "can't remember when crime was worse," Police Chief John J. Skinner said last week.

But the reality is that the city's crime rate dipped to a five-year low in 2007, with serious and violent crimes down 10 percent, Skinner said Thursday in a news conference, in which the statistics were released.

Even as calls for service rose 6 percent last year, to 61,731, there were decreases in robberies, larcenies, auto thefts and simple assaults. The total number of offenses dipped more than 7 percent, from 5,017 in 2006 to 4,656 in 2007.

The decrease in robberies, mostly street robberies targeting Hispanic immigrants, was particularly heartening because they had been increasing for years, Skinner said.

He attributed the decline to increased street-level surveillance, in which plainclothes officers patrol "hot spots." "Quickly the word gets out that the police are here," he said.

Adult arrests also dropped. A total of 2,694 adults were arrested last year, down 10 percent from the year before, even though the police force has been short-staffed.

On Thursday, 10 officers who normally would have been patrolling the streets were in training, a 20 percent reduction in the patrol force. The force has 92 officers; 50 of them are assigned to uniform patrol.

Skinner has asked the Manassas City Council to consider adding funding for six new officers in its 2009 budget. The six would include three dedicated to immigration enforcement under the federal government's 287g program. Those officers would make up the city's Criminal Alien Unit. Prince William County has a similar unit.

Skinner said that the additional manpower is "a need-based request" and that he cannot see the city launching any initiative, including on immigration enforcement, without it.

"I cannot stand in front of this community and tell them that we're going to strip any more patrol officers off the street," he said. "We have so few resources right now that are stretched to their limits."

Manassas saw increases in three types of crimes, including rape, with 14 incidents last year compared with 11 in 2006. Aggravated assault also rose 2 percent, to 91 incidents, and burglaries were up 13 percent, from 163 incidents to 185. The number of homicides, two, remained the same.

In addition to the crime statistics, the department also released its annual review of citizen and internal complaints.

Last year, the department received 27 complaints against 27 employees, 25 of whom were officers. Of those complaints, 10 resulted in disciplinary action, including at least four for unprofessional conduct.

The other complaints included improper use of force, slow patrol response and rudeness. Although Skinner could not specify cases because of privacy rules, he said the disciplinary actions included verbal reprimands, written apologies to the complainants, remedial training and suspensions. In at least one case, involving a complaint of unprofessional conduct, the person resigned at the end of the investigation.

"This is a tough job," Skinner said. "We're bound by a higher standard of conduct, and there is a higher expectation."

The department received 108 letters of commendation last year.