Manassas Police Address Crime Concerns

The meeting room of the Wellington Community Center quickly filled Friday evening for a discussion with the Manassas City Police (MCPD) about crimes that have been popping up in the Wellington neighborhood and how to respond to them.

Chief of Police Douglas Keen was joined by Lieutenant Elia Alfonso, Captain Carl Crawford and Sergeant T. J. Rodriquez of the department.

Keen began the meeting by asking attendees not to take anything he said as an excuse. He then said that the department is fully staffed for the first time in about five years, and had run on 20 percent staffing shortages in the past.

"For the patrol division about 45 percent of the officers that you're going to deal with have less than two years on," he said. "That's not necessarily a bad thing, we're a young force; hopefully, we can retain everyone. But as with any organization, whatever business you're in, there are going to be some growing pains."

Keen responded to a handful of comments that police had slow response time when reporting to incidents. One citizen described the officer who responded to her call as seeming "defeated."

The chief admitted that there were situations that the police could have responded to better. Particularly the case of one citizen who watched an argument over an alleged drug deal unfold in her yard.

While Keen agreed that response time is not always perfect, he also urged residents to report issues before they get worse.

"What I have seen city-wide, not just with Wellington, is that some of our residents are letting some minor issues fester to the point of a frustration, until they burst...but it's also the first time the police have heard about the problem."

A Wellington resident whose son was also attacked in her own yard that backs up to a neighborhood trail, posted on the Wellington Neighborhood Facebook page that she thought the meeting was a "good step."

"Hopefully we can all spread the word to those who couldn't make it, she wrote."Number one critical point...If you see, hear, sense, anything wrong in the area at any time, call [police]."

"The Chief was clear that they need engagement of the community," she added. "We are the eyes and ears. Lights on, doors locked, and look out for one another."

Many residents asked whether the crime rates have gone up recently in the city. The answer was no.

Keen cited a study that was done between January and July 2011 compared to the same study done in 2012. In the first study the police department received 199 calls, 107 were initiated by citizens. In the 2012 study, they received 326 calls, 107 initiated by citizens, the rest by the police.

Another issue that was addressed was the lack of curfew for minors in the city. In order to set a curfew a locality must do a study to find out when the curfew is needed based on the juvenile crime rate, Manassas conducted this study a few years ago and could not justify setting a curfew.

"The study showed we actually needed a curfew in the afternoon right after school," Keen said as the crowd burst into laughter.