Police Dept. limits crime data
The Fairfax County Police Department is no longer putting out weekly crime reports that list incidents for each police district.
Instead, the FCPD has adopted CityProtect, an online map that shows the location of incidents with very limited details.
For example, the map reports these crimes on Oct. 18: a shoplifting incident at the Seven Corners Shopping Center at 6 p.m.; another shoplifting incident at 11 a.m. in the 4200 block of Annandale Road; and the “unauthorized use of an auto” in the 4100 block of Woodland Road in Annandale.
Unlike the previous weekly reports, the data on CityProtect doesn’t indicate whether anyone was arrested and, if not, doesn’t give a description of the suspect. On the plus side, City Protect is updated every day.
According to FCPD spokesperson Sgt. Lance Hamilton, it was taking too much time to compile the weekly crime reports.
CityProtect is being used as an interim basis until FCPD develops its own crime reporting system. That could take anywhere from a few months to a year, Hamilton said.
Is there something being hidden? Maybe FOIA should be utilized by the Annandale Today and the Falls Church paper to keep a focus on Police enforcement activity
Ha! Hiding anything, I wonder? Curious timing on this.
Crime has increassed so much, doing the Weekly Crime Report probably took away from other more important duties.
What “more important duties” are you referring to CB?
Eating enough donuts to keep their bellies in the preferred “rotund” shape?
Issuing enough traffic and parking tickets to meet their monthly quotas?
Bowing down to the demands of the Commonwealth Attorney?
Learning Critical Race Theory and the proper use of Preferred Pronouns?
As noted by another commenter, there is no question that all of the above, and many more such duties, are much “more important” than informing the citizens of Fairfax County of the violent crimes taking place in their communities; at least under the current Board of Supervisors.
Agreed. plus, the department has to be tracking this data for itself. So they’re already taking the time do to it. they are choosing to not share.
“Taking too much time “ to compile a weekly report seems like a lame excuse. The police are paid to serve the public, and keeping the public informed is a key part of that service. Describing incidents and naming apprehended suspects , as the police have been doing, is essential to maintaining an engaged community. The proposed “City Project” is a poor substitute. Why was this decision not put up for public discussion instead of being presented as a fait accompli?
Because the new woke FCPD doesn’t want you to know that minorities—especially black and Hispanics—are disproportionately involved in these crimes; especially violent crimes. That might upset the narrative.
I know I shouldn’t be surprised at the blatant racism and bigotry on display here, but somehow you people continue to shock me.
You would be even more shocked at the many comments that are rejected.
I will not defend what the county is doing here. However, you are embarrassing yourself with the CRT comment. You clearly have no idea what it even is, you just parrot what others tell you it is. Time to grow up, think for yourself, you can do it.
GT, with all due (which means, tiny) respect, you are the one who don’t know what you are bleating about.
I have read several books and attended one full-day training session on Critical Race Theory (CRT) and I consider CRT very useful in changing mindsets and creating the space needed to transform our culture into a more harmonious society in which we welcome and embrace our differences while ridding our nation and country of systemic racism.
However, from the standpoint of a local law enforcement agency, I question whether training agency staff in CRT is a more important and wise use of time than keeping the residents of the locality the agency allegedly serves informed of the specifics of the criminal activity taking place within their midst.
In my view, the answer to this question is NO, it is a more important and wise use of time to keep the local population informed. This is basic. First do the basic work, than do the additional work like training agency staff in CRT.
Furthermore, I think you are the individual embarrassing themself by assuming you know a perfect stranger; and quite obviously regurgitating talking points.
A person can think CRT training is useful without thinking that should be Job One of the local police department; just like a person can enjoy coffee and jelly donuts while calling out people who spend an inordinate amount of time engorging themselves on such delights while they are allegedly protecting and serving their fellow citizens.
Please provide proof/documentation the police are being trained in “CRT”. My point is folks like you call CRT something it is not. Perhaps whatever proof you will provide to back up your claim will show they had cultural sensitivity training or related. Get defensive as you want, you are like so many who don’t actually understand what it is.
Why is it so difficult to understand?
Why don’t you define it, GT?
Here is the “textbook” definition.
Critical Race Theory, or CRT, is an academic and legal framework that denotes that systemic racism is part of American society — from education and housing to employment and healthcare.
Cool definition, GT.
So, American society is racist, aka Americans are racist.
So we’re all racist.
This is why people are upset about this garbage taking over classrooms.
The Department Must compile this data anyways. Whether they share it with us or not they have to be tracking it. It’s interesting that they choose not to share it now. Even the redacted watered-down version. It doesn’t take That much more time to share what they’re already tracking. Unless so many officers have quit and they really are that short-staffed.
But I think they used to like sharing how great the stats are but now it’s gotten bad it’s not as fun to share the bad stats.
I could be way off.
It really doesn’t have to do that much with officers. As someone that works in Federal law enforcement I know they have administrative people on staff that do the reporting, not the actual officers. There is no reason this information can’t be released to the public.
This cut in info sharing comes just before budget discussions begin. Reducing communication with the public should not be a ploy. Federal law requires reporting on numerous crimes and as pointed out the data is gathered. This blog shows that we read the reports and we are concerned with the substantial decrease info shared with the public. Please reconsider. Help us protect ourselves and know what is going on. Admin too busy is unacceptable.
Go back to publishing the reports and providing full details of what happened. Reducing the information shared to the public that’s being served isn’t the right thing to do.
The Fairfax County Police are short-staffed and probably prioritizing responding to calls over sharing detailed information. The number of officers has declined so much that they changed the schedules from three 8-hour shifts to two 12-hour shifts. I suggest attending the monthly CAC meetings–in Mason District they are on the first Tuesday of the month at 7pm: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/getinvolved/communityadvisorycommittee
There is always a crime update and the Captain is usually there to answer questions about specific incidents.