Violent crime dropped in Fairfax County in 2008, but property crimes jumped nearly 9 percent, fueled by a rise in thefts from cars, a police spokeswoman said.
The number of homicides climbed from 13 to 22 between 2007 and 2008, but the number of robberies dropped nearly 25 percent, causing an overall 8.9 percent drop in violent crime, according to statistics released Tuesday by Fairfax County police.
Police spokeswoman Mary Ann Jennings said the department focused “heavily on robberies” following a spike in 2006 that ran into 2007. By the end of 2007, Jennings said police “hammered robberies” with “very targeted efforts.” The effort ran through 2008 and paid off with the sharp drop in robberies, she said.
The number of homicides, which jumped partly because of a November triple homicide, fell within the range the county typically sees, Jennings said. In 2005 there were 22 homicides and in 2006 there were 19.
Meanwhile, the number of burglaries and motor vehicle thefts remained relatively flat, but the number of larcenies, which covers a wide range of property crimes including thefts from cars, jumped from 14,244 to 16,244 incidents. With other property-related crimes totaling no more than 3,000, the shift in larcenies had a profound effect on the statistics, Jennings said.
“Larcenies are a growing problem for us and everyone in the country … where the number of larcenies go, so goes our overall crime rate,” she said. “We can’t seem to convince people to take their valuables out of the car.”
Police across the region and the country have been noting a steady rise in thefts from cars as thieves grab the valuable GPS units people often leave behind in their vehicles.
“If owners don’t try to stop it, there’s not much we can do, although we’re making some inroads,” Jennings said.
