F.C. Crime Reports: An Alarming Trend?

Editor,

Jennifer de Vignier’s letter, “F.C. Crime Reports: An Alarming Trend,” points to a rise in the police department crime reports published in the News-Press, which she sees as “a rising crime rate in our city.” As proof, she is “disheartened to see that that the column had to be carried over to another page this week.”

No doubt she is equally disheartened to see the column continued to another page for a second time this week.

But she should stop looking at the crime reports this way. She should read them for their content. If she did, she’d discover that of this week’s 14 reports, nine deal with traffic offenses, like lack of driver’s licenses or reckless driving. Hardly serious crimes, and typically they account for the majority of the “crimes” reported weekly.

Of the remaining five non-traffic-oriented crimes reported, trespassing and shoplifting accounted for two, and one — “Unintentional discharge of a firearm” — was potentially serious, but turned out to be a gun owner accidentally shooting themself. That leaves the theft of tires and wheels from a car and “simple assault” by “a known suspect.”

Hardly a crime wave, but typical of Falls Church crime reports. Compare that to the crime rate, with multiple shooting deaths, in the city across the Potomac.
I’ll take Falls Church.

Ted White