Crime is up in 2023 compared to 2020

There have been more violent crimes in Fairfax County during the first half of 2023 than during the same period in 2022, according to a survey by the Major Cities Chiefs Association.

During Jan. 1 to June 30, 2023, there were 71 rapes in Fairfax County, compared to 57 in the first six months of 2022.

There were 320 cases of aggravated assault in the first half of 2023 compared to 260 in the first half of 2022. The number of robberies rose from 211 in 2022 to 220 in 2023.

Homicides were the only category in the report that decreased in Fairfax County. There were 10 homicides during Jan. 1 to June 30, down from 12 during the same period in 2022.

The Major Cities Chiefs Association represents police executives from the nation’s largest cities and counties.

The association found Montgomery County, Md., has experienced an increase in aggravated assaults (528, up from 507), and decreases in homicides, rapes, and robberies. Prince George’s County, Md., reports an increase in robberies, aggravated assaults, and homicides and a decrease in rapes.

Nationwide, homicides, rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults have all decreased in the first half of 2023, compared to the first half of 2022.

The Fairfax County Police Department notes that among the 10 jurisdictions of similar size (with populations of 1.2-1.5 million), Fairfax County had the fewest total major crimes (homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) in the second quarter of 2023.

Fairfax County had just 621 incidents involving those four major crimes, compared to 1,042 in Montgomery County and 1,318 in Prince George’s County. Philadelphia had the most, with 7,438.

The FCPD’s mid-year crime report compares data on other crimes for the first half of 2023 and 2022:

• There were 164 burglary/breaking and entering incidents in 2023, three fewer than in 2022. Residential burglaries are up this year with 85 incidents, compared to 65 last year. Burglaries of commercial businesses, pharmacies, and offices are down by 22 percent.

• Shoplifting is up a whopping 1,247 percent in the first half of 2023, compared to last year. There were 2,489 shoplifting cases during January-June of 2022 and 3,736 during January-June of 2023.

• There were 600 auto thefts during the first half of 2023, up from 555 during the same period in 2022.

• Robberies rose from 211 in 2022 to 220 in 2023. Commercial robberies, bank robberies, and home invasions declined but robberies against persons are up 28 percent.

Arrest charges are up during the first half of 2023 compared to the first half of 2022 for assaults on a family member, grand larceny, and strangulation. Arrests for petit larceny nearly doubled from 1,181 in 2022 to 2,168 in 2023.

Total crash fatalities are down from 16 in 2022 to 12 in 2023. There were four pedestrian fatalities during the first half of 2023, compared to 16 during the same period last year.