Chairman Corey Stewart held a press conference earlier in the week to announce a needed crackdown on crime because of a recent spate of serious, more violent crimes in the area. Chairman Stewart addressed crime, rather than more divisive factors in his press conference.
Stewart today called a press conference in his office in Woodbridge and called for answers from the county’s police department on what’s causing what he called an “uptick” in local crime. No law enforcement members were present at the meeting when Stewart announced he wants Police Chief Stephan Hudson look for trends, or possible commonalities on what’s behind a recent rash of violent crime. Recent incidents like a rape, sexual assault, and a bank robbery in Nokesville were also cited as part of a rise in crime.
“It’s too early to know if there is an underlying cause, or if this is a beginning of a trend, but crime did go up substantially in 2012 and I think it’s going to go up again when the final numbers are ready for calendar 2013, as well,” said Stewart.
He’s basing his concerns on anecdotal information given to him, he told reporters.
This is the Corey I like to see! He didn’t single out any demographic groups to target. He aimed at the problem–CRIME. Addressing this problem now, rather than waiting until it gets its foothold in the door is a good thing. Public safety should always get top billing here in Prince William County. It’s just how that top billing is presented that has been a problem in the past. Chairman Stewart is going about this the right way this time. He is going directly to the Chief for his data and solutions.
Additionally, he recommended the hiring of more uniformed police. In a county the size of Prince William, he has recognized the need for more officers based on population and on geographical coverage. According to Potomac Local:
Curbing crime in the community will take more police officers – something Prince William County is short on, said Stewart. At the county’s current population Prince William should have 870 police officers on the beat, but the department is 200 short of that number.
County Executive Melissa Peacor’s proposed budget for FY2015 calls for hiring five new police officers next year. That number is half of the number that was hired in previous years, and 80 percent lower than an original staffing plan that called for hiring 25 officers each year. The staffing plan was scaled back during the recession.
The Board of Supervisors is expected to pass a new budget in April to take effect July 1. Overall crime in Prince William County remains low, said Perok, who provided the following statistics:
– Crime decreased to 17.04 per 1,000 in 2012.
This drop has been steady over the past several years. in 2012, the number of
– Reported property crimes fell by 2% in 2012
– Total number of reported violent crimes increased by 9% in 2012; however, violent crime accounts for only 6% of all crime in Prince William County
– 4% of 2012’s increase in violent crime is attributed to prior year incidents
These statistics might simple be random or they might indicate a trend. Better to ask the experts in crime and that is what Stewart is doing, rather than doing the knee-jerk reaction thing. Apparently not all supervisors are on board with the idea that we might need additional uniformed police officers. One supervisor was quoted criticizing the Chairman for his press conference because he continues to bill Prince William County as a safe place to live.
Well doh! Just what is he supposed to do? Change all the signs? Tell people not to cross Bull Run because of the dangerous county we live in? What an incredibly stupid thing to say. I would hope that supervisor got hold of the person who quoted him or her and bitch slapped them. Funny how obsequious behavior and politics can make some people say and do some incredibly ridiculous things. Wow. Just Wow!
Meanwhile, Let’s give Chairman Stewart kudos for recognizing the fact that our police department IS understaffed and still suffers from recession blues. Hopefully he will also hear that there is a need to also beef up the support staff. Those uniformed officers don'[t just magically appear from the cracks of Prince William County. They need cars, equipment, support staff, and a whole lot of other things I hope the Chief puts on the “must have list.”
There are lots of toads out there. Let’s bring them in!
The police respond:
Bristow Beat
http://bristowbeat.com/news/police-provide-insight-on-crime-rate-in-coun/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Bristowbeat+%28Bristow+Beat+Updates%29
“You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension – a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You’ve just crossed over into the Twilight Zone.”
LOL LOL LOL
consider the alternatives….consider the alternatives.
*I* support law enforcement when it isn’t singling out special groups of people based on ethnicity.
Let’s get them the pay raises that they deserve first.
Twilight zone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVSRm80WzZk
Blue, I am all in favor of raises for the police also. Isn’t that in the budget?
What is more important? Raises or more uniforms? I don’t know the answer. I would say do both.
I am the one who says cheap isn’t better. PWC is cheap. It costs less to live there. That’s why people live here and commute. Its more affordable. The question becomes, are we too cheap?
Are we a low income magnet? Is there a correlation to crime and low income? Could the going on the cheap be one of the reasons for our crime?
so if I have to pay more in taxes, then so be it. I have gotten along for the past ten years pretty cheaply. Now its time to pay the piper.
I have passed a suggestion to the CXO, which she appreciated, to look at the ER admissions at the two Health Systems in terms of people coming in with illegal drugs in their body or in their possession.
Sentara, in particular, is seeing an increase in the last six months of more people coming in on heroin. Less admissions related to oxycodin and other drugs. Novant not as much, but they are seeing a rise to. Best part is, the PD Chief can ask for the statistics as those are not subject to HIPAA.
Ray, great suggestion!
@Moon-howler
PWC is cheap? Not according to the WP.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/local/wp/2014/03/14/exactly-how-much-have-property-taxes-gone-up-in-the-state-of-nova-this-much/
I don’t even think mine will go up that much. Prince William remains relatively inexpensive compared to its neighbors. Now, if you compare house prices to Harrisonburg or Staunton, they look high. Compare to Loudoun or Fairfax? You are getting a lot of bang for your buck.
Housing assessments are out. Mine didn’t go up that much and taxes are at least 5 cents less. Well…..let’s see how that plays out.
Blue, I have read the article now. I hadn’t with the other answers. I think whoever wrote the article had SFB. PWC has not doubled its taxes or its tax rate since 2007. Articles like that just fuel the ill-informed. What the article also fails to mention is that PWC got hit harder with foreclosures than any other jurisdiction in the state. Many people lost more than half their real estate value. The total tax picture is viewed through real estate assessments and tax rate.
The tax idiocy of some people (admittedly fueled by manipulative politicians) is almost beyond comprehension. I remember quite clearly in the early 2000s when PWC dramatically lowered its tax rates, but the Supervisors were hammered for “raising taxes” because home values were surging.
Real property ad valorem taxes are horrible taxes. They are a tax on unrealized paper values. They should be abolished and replaced with income taxation and/or taxes on sale prices. But until the General Assembly does something to effect comprehensive changes in how localities raise funds, that’s what the counties are stuck with. The energy spent carping about having a home that is worth more than it used to be would be better spent advocating for tax reform at the state and local level.
I have been endoctrinated. It never occurred to me to seek anything different.
I guess what bothers me so much is the usual those who have the biggest boldest homes are bitching the loudest. I am in a modest SFH and am willing to help chip in to make PWC a better place to live.
I don’t want to live somewhere known for being cheap and bare bones. I want decent schools, a cop when I call for one and nearly instant fire and rescue with nice modern equipment.
The property tax works in many ways like the income tax. If your income goes up, your taxes go up. Usually this is the case even if the marginal tax rate declines modestly. Most of us would not squawk very much (aside from the usual background noise grumbling) about having to pay more taxes if our incomes increased 10%. That’s just the way the mechanism works.
With property taxes the same thing happens. If a county were misadministered to the point that the county government clearly was causing property values to decline (and one could rule out other external causes), people would be furious (and with just cause). But when their values increase, they don’t want to pay more.
Part of the problem is mechanics. The increase in property values is unrealized wealth. You really don’t have it. It exists only on a piece of paper. If one is forced to finance local services with a property tax, it at least ought to be calculated on sale price, with a premium tacked on at re-sale to capture increase in value over the period of ownership. But, having said that, I think it’s a stupid, antiquated tax that should be ditched in favor of taxation of income.
This “more police” issue is a solution looking for a problem. The facts simply don’t support a need for more police in PWC, and Corey wants to increase the number of officers by 40%! The money pot is only so big, and that funding will have to come from somewhere. Development Services, Planning, Environmental Services, Libraries, etc. have all been cut to the bone already.
If we need more police per resident in the future, the proffers should be adjusted to provide for that eventuality.
I’m gonna keep saying this until it catches on- until we begin to bend the curve with more realistic proffers, our property taxes will continue to rise above inflation. It’s simple math- the county relies primarily on property tax for funding, and new development doesn’t pay its way. Each new housing unit costs existing taxpayers money.
Either stop building new units, raise the proffer amounts, or diversify with more high quality commercial (industrial, high-end office, not strip-mall and big-box development). Or keep raising property taxes as PWC always has.