Prince William Murder Rate Sharply Declined in 2017

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The 2017 murder rate for Prince William County dropped significantly after a spike in 2016, according to the annual crime report Prince William Police released Friday.

The county’s crime rate rose slightly overall in comparison to 2016.

Decreases: Murder, Fatal Vehicle Crashes

The most significant area of improvement was a sharp decrease in the murder rate.

In 2016 there were 22 murders in Prince William County, an anomaly in comparison to other years. In 2017, that number fell to four, an 82% decrease.

There were fewer fatalities as a result of motor vehicle accidents in 2017 in comparison to 2016. The number fell from 27 to 19, a 29.6% decrease.

The number of total crashes only decreased 1.2%, but the number of total alcohol-related fatal crashes reduced by half, from 8 to 4.

Increases: Crime Overall, Rape, Assaults, Motor Vehicle Theft

There were 6,364 offenses committed in the county in 2017, whereas there were 6,141 in 2016.

For the purpose of the report, these offenses include murder, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft.

The county’s crime rate, considered in terms of population, has decreased steadily over the past 15 years.

The 2017 rate of 14 per 1,000 citizens is slightly higher than 2016’s 13.7 but a slight decrease to 2015’s 14.4.

Incidents of reported rapes increased from 60 to 112, last year, an 87% increase. Sexual offenses other than rape increased by 31 cases.

Motor vehicle theft increased from 327 to 397, a 21% increase.

Aggravated assault increased 10%. Assaults “other than aggravated” rose by 281 incidents.

There were 148 assaults on police officers in 2017.

Effect of Undocumented Immigrants on Crime Rates

The number of illegal aliens arrested for crimes overall in the county was only 2.1% in 2017. However, illegal aliens were charged with some of the most heinous offenses last year.

Of the 15 individuals arrested for murder in 2017, 12 had illegal alien status. Five out of 19 rape arrests were also of illegal aliens.

In other crimes, the impact of illegal was less pronounced or even nonexistent: 2.5% of all aggravated assaults; 0% of robberies; 2.2% of burglaries; 1% of larceny; and 0% of motor vehicle theft.

Read the 2017 Crime Report

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