Manassas police report more fatal overdoses, domestic violence arrests, traffic citations in 2021

The amount of crime is rising in Manassas.

Police Chief Douglas Keen presented his department’s annual report to the City Council on Monday, February 28, which shows violent crime increased nine percent in 2021. For every 1,000 residents, 20 crimes are reported. That’s up from 19 a year ago.

Police reported one murder in the city in 2021, the same number as 2020, and two more rape cases last year for a total of 20. There were 23 more domestic violence arrests in 2021, an 11% increase.

However, there were 26 fewer reports of violent domestic abuse in 2021, a 10% drop. The number of robberies declined by eight, for a total of 22.

Like most area jurisdictions, the city has been home to thieves who steal catalytic converters from parked cars, said Keen. The number of larcenies increased 25% to 645.

Police were called to 357 mental illness cases last year, a 14% increase. Keen said his department would create a co-responder unit, similar to Prince William County, which pairs mental health counselors with police to help residents in crisis.

Fourteen people in the city died of a drug overdose, four more than the previous year. Keen said police have held seminars to educate parents about the importance of discarding old household prescription drugs while collecting nearly 700 pounds of unused medications at community disposal events.

On the streets, parking violations continue to be a problem. While officers wrote fewer parking tickets last year, police cited nearly 900 drivers for not having a current state license plate. Overall, parking violations were up 24%.

Officers wrote more tickets for drivers who refused to put down their cell phones and obey the state’s hands-free law that went into effect in January 2021.

The city’s most-dangerous intersections continue to be located along Liberia Avenue, where it meets Route 28, Euclid Avenue, and Signal Hill Road. Overall, Manassas cops wrote about 6,000 traffic citations in 2021, about 1,000 more than the previous year.

There were no fatal crashes in Manassas in 2021.

The number of calls for help increased by about 13,000 last year to about 81,500 calls. Police officers made 6% of those calls. “That shows we’re being proactive, not reactive,” Keen told the City Coucnil.

The time it took officers to respond to critical calls also increased from to average of 3 minutes 42 seconds, up from about 3 minutes. Keen said the increased response time is due to new officers learning the lay of the land and that the times should come down this year.

More than 60 police officers patrol Manassas’ streets. The agency achieved full national accreditation from The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc.

A new public safety center on Grant Avenue will house the department when it opens later this year.