As more people move into Prince William County, Virginia, the county has also seen more crime.
The nearly 6% jump in overall crime from 2020 to 2021 was joined by a population that increased by 1.7%, according to Prince William County police’s annual report.
In an interview with WTOP news partner NBC Washington, Police Chief Peter Newsham said his main concerns when looking at the department’s 2021 annual report include stolen autos and aggravated assault numbers, with the latter increasing by more than 22% over a 5 year average.
“A significant majority of our violent offenses are between people who know each other,” Newsham told NBC Washington.
The annual report also shows there were 183 robberies in 2021 compared to 145 the previous year. Overall, violent crimes rose by about 56 incidents. While the crime rate is up, it’s still lower than what it was before the pandemic.
Arrests have also decreased by almost half among juveniles.
“I think that everyone would agree, that’s a good thing. We’re not unnecessarily introducing young people into the criminal justice system,” Newsham told NBC Washington.
When looking at the roads, traffic citations were down, but fatal crashes were up significantly — nearly 65%.
