Attached are the crime statistics for November 2015.

24 Beat covers all of the North Arlington part of the 2nd District to include Clarendon, Courthouse, and Rosslyn. 48/49 Beat covers all of the South Arlington part of the 2nd District from Crystal City to the area around Oakridge/Gunston Schools up to 395.

** This report will have two comparison. One comparison is with the 5-year average which takes into account peak and valleys and gives a better statistical comparison to the crime statistics. The other comparison is with the previous year.

There are numerous ways to compare numbers and the intent of this report is not over or under estimate the frequency of reported crimes or to indicate that this is the only or the best way to compare numbers.

24 Beat

As the attached document indicates, the reported crime in the 24 Beat decreased by 2% for both the five (5) year average and when compared to last year. The average number of reported incidents in this geographic area during November over the last five years is 49.8 and we had 49 incidents reported this year; there were 50 incidents reported last year.

Since the overall number of incidents are almost identical to last year and the five (5) year average, very little stands out. We do see an increase in numbers of shoplifting cases to 14 this year when compared to the five (5) year average of 8 and last year number of 4 shoplifting incidents. These numbers represent an increase of 75% compared to the five (5) year average and 250% increase compared to last year’s numbers. The shoplifting cases in this geographic area are occurring along the Wilson Blvd’s retail chains such as CVS and 7-11 stores.

The theft from motor vehicle category continues to see the downward trend that started earlier in the year. We had total of 6 reported incidents of theft from a vehicle compared to the five (5) year average of 7.6 and last year number of 14 incidents.

On the burglary series where we have had an individual accessing unlocked apartments, the detectives had a break in the case. A stolen item taken from a burglary from the 2500 block of Clarendon Blvd was tracked and an individual identified. Based on the investigation, warrants for the individual have been obtained. We believe that we can link 25 burglaries to this individual.

We had two reported incidents of indecent exposure on November 13th. One incident occurred in the 2600 block of N. Clarendon and the other incident occurred in the 2000 block of Wilson Blvd. The only description is of a male, unknown race.


48/49 Beat

The reported crime in the 48/49 Beat decreased by 2% compared to the five (5) year average and increased by 7% when compared to last year. The average number of reported incidents reported in this geographic area in November based on a five (5) year average is 99.2 and we had 97 incidents reported this year. Last year, there were 91 incidents reported.

Unlike the previous few months, shoplifting cases remained at the same levels as the five (5) year average and when compared to last year. The biggest statistics that jumps out when reading the report is number of robberies. We had 6 reported incidents of robbery which is 6 higher than the last year’s numbers and the five-year average. We have been fortunate that for the last 5 years, we haven’t had any reported incidents of robberies during the month of November. In looking at the cases, one robbery was an instance of a disagreement between a prostitute and a john and was cleared as unfounded. Two other robberies were actual shoplifting cases where the individuals used some kind of force in their attempt to flee from the loss prevention officers. Of the remaining three robberies, two were in the area of 2900 S. Glebe Road. One was unsuccessful in that the victim sprayed the assailant with pepper spray and the suspects fled the scene, the other one in the area involved a knife. It is unknown at this time if the two are related. The other robbery was in the area of 1400 S. Joyce Street where the assailant grabbed the victim’s purse from behind and fled the scene. With the Holiday season upon us, we do see an increase in incidents and we remind everyone to always be familiar with your surroundings. In two of the cases, victims were distracted and could not provide us with information about the suspects or what their behavior was prior to the incidents.

Notable Arrest/Additional Information

· Our forensic unit confirmed through prints obtained from multiple vehicles an individual who is already wanted for breaking into vehicles in the Crystal City area. The latest case was from a string of vehicle break-ins from mid-October
· A person was identified that was responsible for a burglary inside the Pentagon City Mall from an incident that occurred on November 3rd. Subsequent investigation linked several burglaries inside the mall to this individual. Merchandise from several stores was recovered from the suspect’s residence as a result of the execution of a search warrant.
· Four juveniles were arrested for breaking into a vehicle in the area of 1800 block of Wilson Blvd. All four individuals confessed to breaking into the vehicle.
· On November 29th, patrol officers arrested an individual for a burglary in progress in the 2600 block of Clarendon Blvd. The individual has not been linked to any other burglaries in the area so far.
· Bicycle larcenies though as not as prevalent in previous months, is still an issue. We strongly urge all bikers to register their bicycles at the below link. The Police Department does recommend U-locks to secure your bicycles but please understand that no device is foolproof.

http://police.arlingtonva.us/b...e-registration-form/

SCAMS

All three Districts are beginning to see the IRS and you missed jury duty/warrant on file scam again. Unfortunately few of our citizens fell victim to the scam and sent money. Any time someone calls, please hang-up and call that agency through the number provided at that organizations website and not through the number the caller is providing you. IRS and Police Department/Sheriff’s Office are not authorized to waive a judgement or a warrant against anyone by simply paying a fine over the phone. Most of these calls are being generated through the internet and very difficult if not impossible to track and quite a few that we know are being generated from overseas. The ones who appear to fall for these individuals tend to be older so if you have a loved one that is getting up in years, please watch over their finances as best you can.

Holiday Season

With the Holiday season upon us, please be mindful of your surroundings. Though most of us are enjoy the Holidays in the true spirits, unfortunately there are those who do not. When you go shopping, please make sure that if you are going to leave shopping bags in your car, leave them in your trunk. Please don’t leave your phones/wallets/purses unattended anywhere. We also see an increase in theft of holiday packages that are left unattended in your condos/apartments/homes. Attach you will find some suggestions on how to protect your holiday packages from thieves. Have a great Holiday season and Merry Christmas to those who celebrate Christmas.

Holiday Toy Drive

As you might be aware, Arlington County Police Department is in the process of conducting a toy drive with couple of different campaigns. Your generosity in helping others is second to none. For our first attempt at doing something for neighbors who might not be as fortunate as others, we have been very pleased with the enthusiasm all of you have showed by donating toys for kids. A very special thank you to all of you but especially to the following communities and businesses:

· Prospect House – within a few days of the notice, the toy box we left was overflown with toys and you started the campaign on the right note.
· Lyon Village – As usual the community was all in and we got tons of donations.
· Clarendon Business community – again and again you have showed us that you a vital part of the community by giving back generously.
· Arlington Ridge and Aurora Highland – thank you for your generosity by coming to the Lady of the Lourdes Church and filling our cruisers with toys.
· Freddie’s Beach and Bar- thank you for arranging for a special event around toy donations.

Next Door

This past week, the Arlington County Police Department started using the Next Door neighborhood app as another way to communicate to the community we serve. Next Door allows communities to easily create private websites to facilitate communication among neighbors and is completely free. Our charge is to find multiple mediums to reach as broad a spectrum of our community as we can and if you are interested in looking at this particular site for communicating based on the neighborhood you live in, please use the below link to see if this interests you.

www.nextdoor.com (NRCA note: this is a west coast commercial startup backed by venture capital money. Do your research on this company and make sure you are comfortable disclosing your personal information which may be used later for commercial purposes).


Traffic Safety

A suggestion came in from one of our citizens about traffic safety during winter months. As we are all aware it does get dark pretty early on. Whether you are driving on the streets or using the streets as a bicyclist or a pedestrian, please be aware that it is quite possible that due to darkness and the tendency to wear darker clothing during winter that we might not be as visible to each other as we are during spring and summer times. Let’s take a moment and take just a little bit extra time to ensure that we see others and that we are seen as we use the streets/sidewalks.

Thanks


Captain Kamran Afzal
Arlington County Police Department
Commander, 2nd District Police Team
703-228-4327; kafzal@arlingtonva.us

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