Chief Issues Annual Police Report, Seeks To Restore Department Accreditation

Summary

• The Falls Church City Police Department is working to restore its national accreditation.
• Crime in the City increased 3.57% overall from 2022 to 2023.
• 911 calls for service increased by 21.92% year over year.
• Reportable traffic crashes increased from 101 in 2022 to 138 in 2023.

Background

At its October 28, 2024, meeting, the City Council received and discussed the 2023 Falls Church Police Report from Police Chief Shahram Fard. Mayor Letty Hardi noted, “Despite being on Council eight years now, I believe this is the first time I’ve seen the annual report from the Police Department.” She applauded the Chief for stressing “transparency [of] and accessibility [to]” this information.

Chief Fard took over the Police Department from former Chief Mary Gavin in January 2024. This report covers the final period under Chief Gavin.

Accreditation for the Police Department

Chief Fard told the City Council that it is a priority for him to re-accredit the Falls Church City Police Department, though not with the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission (VLEPSC), as in the past. The Falls Church police force lost its VLEPSC accreditation at the beginning of 2023. Currently, Falls Church City Police Department is a self-assessed police department, one of 30 police departments in the state of Virginia that do not hold the VLEPSC accreditation.

Chief Fard said it is his goal to gain national accreditation but did not indicate when that would be accomplished or by whom the accreditation would be granted. He made it clear, though, that Falls Church would move to national accreditation to ensure a “wider acceptance of our practices.”   

Council Member Erin Flynn said she wanted to ensure that Chief Fard has the support he needs to achieve accreditation. He replied that he does and took the opportunity to say that “it is not just accreditation, but the process [of regaining that designation] that will make us better.” The process will help the department “change our culture to ensure best policing practices are ingrained.”   

Crime statistics

The police report highlights a 3.57% increase in the overall City crime rate compared to 2022, while emphasizing that the total number of offenses per 100,000 people remains below the Virginia average.

Beginning in 2023, Falls Church City started to record crimes using the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) National Incident Reporting System (NIBRS), which categorizes incidents into Group A and B offenses, defined as follows:

• Group A offenses:
  • Crimes Against Persons – murder, kidnapping, assault, rape, etc.
  • Crimes Against Society – narcotics, prostitution, gambling, etc.
  • Crimes Against Property – vandalism, theft, arson, burglary, shoplifting, etc.

• Group B offenses: Other offenses not covered by Group A, primarily misdemeanors such as loitering, disorderly conduct, and driving under the influence.

The table below breaks down overall crime statistics for Falls Church from 2019 to 2023.

Group A offenses

Comparing 2023 to 2022, Crimes Against Persons increased 2.27%, from 88 to 90. Crimes Against Society increased 21.43%, from 14 to 19, and Crimes against Property increased 3.26%, from 430 to 444.  However, over a five-year period, crime rates have fallen, except for Crimes Against Property. There has been a significant increase in destruction/damage/vandalism and larceny and theft offenses, especially shoplifting.

Group B offenses

The data only capture the number of arrests made for Group B offenses, not the number of incidents. This group refers to offenses that are more minor in nature. Chief Fard explained that the officers only make arrests in more severe cases, preferring to issue warnings or take less drastic action whenever possible. Compared to 2022, 2023 arrests for Group B offenses increased by 48.84%, from 146 to 210. The five-year trend is shown below.

Calls for service

From 2022 to 2023, calls for service decreased by 7.36% from 31,233 to 29,015. Within that metric, it should be noted that while officer-initiated calls for service decreased by 15.60%, 911-initiated calls increased by 21.92%. “This is only three years but in [these] three years, we’ve been growing population some,” Mayor Hardi noted. She added, “I thought it was notable that our calls for service haven’t jumped as much.” She asked for future reports to track calls for service per capita.

Chief Fard responded, “Naturally, as officers spend more time on 911 calls, they have less time to do self-initiated work.” The number of 911 calls has increased over the last five years. The FY2025 budget included funding for two additional emergency technicians as a result. Mayor Hardi acknowledged that “You’ll see the light green bar [in the graph below] probably grow in size as the population grows.”

Patrol and traffic safety

From 2022 to 2023, traffic crashes increased from 101 to 138, while traffic tickets increased from 1,501 to 1,858. To put this increase in context, Chief Fard noted that statewide, there was a 4.2% increase in crashes. He expressed optimism for 2024, stating “So far in 2024… we’ve had 63 reportable crashes.” Additionally, parking tickets decreased from 2,376 to 1,838. 

The graph below shows parking and traffic safety metrics for the past three years.

Council Member David Snyder asked the Chief to provide any additional information he might have on traffic safety, a topic in which “citizens are particularly interested.” Chief Fard responded, “I take traffic safety very seriously for all of our road users” whether pedestrians, cyclists, or motorists. He noted that the department now shares weekly traffic data with the public on its website under Reports and Data with the City’s traffic engineers to identify where safety improvements can be made.

In addition to engineering and enforcement, Chief Fard highlighted the importance of education and noted a newly available video about all of the Police Department’s automated traffic enforcement efforts. The video features a new speed camera in the 800 block of W Broad Street by St. James Catholic School.

Mayor Hardi asked Chief Fard for more enforcement of stop-sign running, a citizen complaint she and other Council members are hearing more frequently, and he pledged to note that for his officers. Mr. Snyder noted that the Council’s Legislative Committee will continue to press the use of electronic speed and stop-sign enforcement in Richmond, and Chief Fard offered to testify there, as needed.

Mental health

Chief Fard said that 85% of sworn Falls Church Police Department staff have been trained in Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT), in which they are required to undergo 40 hours of instruction identifying and dealing with various mental health disorders.  Chief Fard noted that in an effort to balance enforcement versus calls for help, the Police Department “tries to do the best we can so that we can divert from arrest to mental health resources.”

City Manager Wyatt Shields added that the department is currently processing lessons learned from a pilot program where a clinical therapist was embedded with the Police Department when responding to calls. Mr. Shields promised future briefings for the Council and the community on the results of that effort.

Vice Mayor Debora Schantz-Hiscott thanked Chief Fard for his participation as a member of the regional Community Justice Board. “It is good to have you part of that team,” she said. Ms. Schantz-Hiscott and Council Member Justine Underhill also thanked the Police Chief for being visible around town on his bicycle.

References

• City Council Meeting, October 28, 2024. This official video will not display properly on a small screen as it includes the agenda. The Police Chief’s report and discussion of it begins at timestamp 1:02:20 and ends at 1:38:55.
• City Council Meeting, October 28, 2024. YouTube video. Police Department 2023 Annual Report Presentation UPDATED, October 28, 2024.
• Police Department 2023 Annual Report Presentation UPDATED, October 28, 2024.