A police car screamed past me, followed by a second cruiser, red and blue lights flashing and siren wailing. Immediately, I thought, “There’s been another shooting.”
Kristina Nohe
Last year, Prince William County saw a steep rise in violent crime, and 2023 is not showing any signs of improvement. The daily incident reports released by the police have included a collection of violent crimes in just the first weeks of this year: armed robbery, residential burglary, commercial burglary, burglary of a place of worship, reckless handling of a firearm, shooting projectiles at a school bus, malicious wounding, unlawful wounding, assault by mob, abduction, rape, strangulation, and assault and battery of an elementary school student by a teacher.
In addition, the first week of January saw the tragic murder of a 3-year-old girl and the wounding of four teenagers.
Violent crime is not limited to a particular Zip code, the east or the west of the county, or homes that are close together or separated by acres of land. According to the Prince William County Police Department’s annual report, overall crime rose almost 6% in 2021 over the previous year. In 2022, there were 19 homicides in the county. In contrast, in 2020, there were only eight murders in the county, and in 2021, there were 10.
Last month, the Board of County Supervisors approved a Community Safety Initiative that “will focus on prevention, intervention, education and diversion strategies to be more proactive in addressing safety concerns within the community.”
Combined with an increase in the starting salaries for police officers, this initiative is a step in the right direction. Its strength is that it does not rely exclusively on police power but aims to involve the community in multiple ways.
In 2017, a New York University study estimated that every 10 additional organizations focusing on crime and community life in a city with 100,000 residents leads to a 9% reduction in the murder rate and a 6% reduction in the violent crime rate.
Community engagement will be vital in reversing the upward trend in violent crime. Enlisting participation can not be, as so many boards and commissions are, limited to political activists and the friends of supervisors. New solutions will require new perspectives and voices, particularly those from under-represented communities, including victims and former offenders. That will require a concerted outreach program through traditional means, such as town halls, and non-traditional channels, such as churches and community service organizations.
A focus on crime itself is only half of the solution; the other part is investing in community life. The Department of Housing and Urban Development found that “[s]trong social organization, youth job opportunities, immigration, and residential stability” were key factors in lowering crime rates. The people of Prince William can invest in reducing the crime rate by engaging in our community life. Many organizations throughout the county are doing this work, but they need help.
Whether leading youth sports, delivering food, tutoring, mentoring mothers, or working with veterans, there is a need for every willing volunteer. Volunteer Prince William (volunteerprincewilliam.org) is a fantastic resource for finding organizations seeking volunteers, as is Volunteer Match (volunteermatch.org). Prince William County Schools has a “Volunteer And Stewardship Opportunities” page on its website (pwcs.edu), as does the Boys and Girls Club (bgca.org).
Local residents can also look to Action in Community Through Service (ACTS) for ways to help (actspwc.org/volunteer). In addition, many churches and outreach organizations post their needs online. Some needs can’t be met by just anyone, but every need can be met by someone.
There is no doubt that Prince William has a growing crime problem and no question that the local government could be doing more. However, crime is a complicated issue; eliminating it will take a community effort.
Kristina Nohe is a political activist, adoption advocate and homeschooling mom who is proud to be from Prince William County.
(27) comments
Ms. Nohe spouts as though she's just another Obama-bot Democrat community organizer talking liberal social justice fluff resulting in nothing. As long as PWC and Manassas remain Democrat-run, we are doomed. Finally, the idiot Democrat poster again shows his stupidity posting complete b.s just to garner a sense of superiority on this forum.The dude really is a leftist moron and I think he knows it.
You also have to have a healthy community and that begins at the gym some people obviously don't exercise and instead spew "it takes a village" garbage.
So, what Mark said in this thread.
There is no turning back…PWC is a democrat ghetto due to the majority minority.
This happened in the 80s. Prosecution and maximum sentences are needed to clean up crime. The elimination of the sanctuary county for illegal immigrants will help clean up crime as well. The rest of the things mentioned are nice but it’s too late for that to give any immediate benefits. Those things will help 10 to 20 years from now. More officers need to be funded for the police department. Criminals don’t respect anyone so they don’t deserve any respect other than maximum sentences. It’s too late to help them. They made a choice to be criminals so they can face the consequences.
Criminals used to respect cops in the past because they were afforded rights under the Constitution. Nowadays, cops can beat the life out of you and make up a false report to cover up their brutality.
@dutko..that’s one of the most delusional responses even from you I’ve heard in a while. Let me correct you, criminals would fear law enforcement because they knew they were going to jail or prison and the system supported that. Now, in law enforcement, you’re on your own, unknown if you’ll be supported by the commonwealth attorney or the courts. If leftist jurisdictions, the motto is if you don’t get out the car you can’t get in trouble. Communists like you deserve everything you get in life.
Maybe if we got rid of guns, then criminals wouldn't push back against police.
You are right John. I hereby demand all criminals turn in their guns. That should work. BTW, John probably doesn't know it, but it is already illegal to commit a crime using a gun.
You really need to quit embarrassing yourself like this.
I have to respectively disagree with some of what you write Mrs. Nohe. Housing density absolutely does impact the amount of violent crime in a neighborhood. And, it's not just because more people live there. Thugs generally do not like to take care of lawns or maintain their own homes. They usually rent an apartment or townhome. If you have ever owned rental property, especially low-income rental property, you know many of your rent applicants are shady characters. These people make it very hard for honest lower income people trying to find a place to live and for young people just starting out in life. Unfortunately it is often difficult to tell the difference.
The Prince William County Police Department maintains a website using the County Mapper where you can see where violent crime is taking place. https://pwcgov.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=35e7e79e08754fda8d551e0b974aad6a
So, if you want to REALLY reduce the crime, you must address the economic activity (or lack thereof) of the residents in a neighborhood.
That might help a bit, but the biggest problem is cultural. People need to be taught to respect human life and property rights. Prince William County has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country but it is not helping curb crime.
Americans have a propensity for violence. Violence is a part of our culture. Use the weapons that are at our disposal to move up in the world.
And there are many poor people who do not resort to crime. They were raised right.
That is true. However, over half of criminal acts and victimization can be attributed to the poor and lower income classes: https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/hpnvv0812.pdf
And you can try to raise a person the right way, but if the environment they are being raised in (most likely affected by economic factors) is a substandard quagmire of crappy life choices, they will never move out and remain in that cycle of poverty. This goes across all racial and cultural barriers.
Number 1 issue that prevents crime is having good, present, parents. Number 2 is a community that calls out the terrible behavior of its people and holds them accountable. If you have neither of those working, you and your community are doomed. I will take this even further....men need to grow up/stop acting like immature weaklings in their mid 20s plus and be good fathers. Present fathers. Accountable fathers. No amount of talking about crime prevention and bringing in a bunch of talking heads is going to do anything. It is usually the most simple of things that solve the biggest problems.
All excellent points
So, abortions reduce crime.
And those deadbeat dads who ran off? Most likely would have been domestic abusers anyway.
IMO people like John Dutko are the problem. Arrogant and full of excuses. He thinks he is doing the lords work fighting racism online but in reality he is our local online Al Sharpton.
In dutko's dystopia, depape wouldnt be charged with murder or elder abuse if you believe that. He'd be given a gold star, medal of honor. Aborted baby parts would be sold on ebay. Even 1-4 year olds... Not like they realize they exist is what the crazy libs say. Imagine the regrets he has for serving.
I know I'm right when I strike a nerve and people resort to personal attacks instead of discussing the problem or finding solutions.
Jesus had the answer, but that offends people like you.
@paul…nailed it! Jesus is the answer to these godless communist heathens. Dutko just got owned like he’s never felt before!
@George
I loved the "Nailed it" pun
@Paul
I would love to hear what passage you are referring to, because cafeteria Christians tend to not really know the Bible and don't really want to acknowledge that inconsistencies exists.
It's all made up stories anyway.
John, there are many versus, but the ones that sum it up are Mark 12: 28-34. Even if you reject the first (and most important) commandment because you do not believe in God, the second to love others as yourself should prevent you from killing others.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.