Drastic 2017 crime stat swings: Rapes increase while murder rate plunges

WOODBRIDGE — Some who have come in contact with Prince William police officers have become more brazen. Assaults on county police officers increased by 35 percent in 2017.

There were 148 recorded incidents of assaults on officers, up from 80 in 2016. Chief Barry Barnard said those statistics show just how dangerous policing profession can be.

“It’s important for the community to be aware of that. We answer thousands of calls, make thousands of arrests, and unfortunately, officers get assaulted. Police work is complex. and there is some risk involved for some handling these calls for service,” Barnard said.

The police chief on Friday led the department’s annual press conference to review the county’s crime statistics for the previous year. In addition to more police officers being assaulted on the job, the department noted an increase in the following:

There were 112 rapes reported in 2017, 52 more than the previous year. According to Barnard, 37 of those rapes occurred before 2017, but police were notified about the crime only last year so the crime is counted in the year it is reported. Of the 112 rapes reported in 2017, a total of 75 occurred in 2017.

“Why do we have 112 cases? We’re not certain,” said Barnard. 

He credited victim education and awareness as some of the potential reasons rape victims decided to come forward to report their assaults. The increased number also comes as after many high-profile cases of those in actors and producers in Hollywood, and TV personalities were accused of sexual assault as part of the national “Me Too” awareness movement over the past year.

The number of aggravated assaults has increased by 21 percent since 2014. A change in state law now classifies strangulation as aggravated assault, and Barnard says that is one of the reasons why the number is higher this past year.

Theft of motor vehicles is also on the rise in the county. A total of 396 cars were reported stolen in 2017, 24 more than the previous year. Barnard called these thefts “crimes of opportunity” as many of the stolen cars were left unlocked, some with their engines running.

Drug offenses are up nearly 50 percent as officers continue to battle the surge of the opioid epidemic that has not only affected the county but the nation.

“We as a community here and across America need to continue to work hard to address the opioid epidemic that continues to affect our country,” said Barnard. 

More than 100 people in Prince Willam County have died as a result of an overdose over the past two years.

Prince William County Police Major Dawn Harman said drugs could also be partly to blame for the increase in officer assaults.

“When an officer makes an arrest, a person in a normal state will see it as someone taking away their freedom. When officers come into contact with people who are not in the right frame of mind, those in an altered state, an arrest can make an even higher impact on that person,” she said.

Murder rate drops

The number of murders in the county declined drastically, from 16 the prior year to four in 2017.

All of the victims died as a result of a stabbing, including the murder of Larry Drumgole, 44, a loss prevention officer at Burlington Coat Factory at Potomac Mills mall who tried to stop a shoplifter. It was the only murder last year where the victim did not know his killer.

The suspect in the murder, 36-year-old Jamel Carlos Kingsbury, of Fort Washington, Md., will face trail in a Prince William County courtroom at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 27.

Barnard said there is very little rhyme or reason to the murder rate in the county. While the number of murders in 2016 was at a 15-year-peak, there only 10 murders in 2015, two in 2012, and 16 in 2006.

No matter the number, Barnard says homicide cases are always traumatic for the victims’ families.

The overall crime rate for the county remained nearly flat for the year, rising slightly by nearly four percent to 14 crimes per every 1,000 residents.

The annual crime report also notes a jump in the county’s population, rising from 449,864 in 2016 to 456,126 in 2017.