Fairfax County's past year in crime will be remembered for itshigh-profile homicides, particularly the fatal shooting of twoofficers outside the Sully district station in May.
But 2006 had an unusual twist -- a skyrocketing bank-robberyrate and probably the highest number of overall robberies in thepast 25 years.
Fairfax typically has about two dozen bank holdups. In 2005,there were 19. But in 2006, 43 banks were robbed, an increase ofmore than 126 percent.
The overall robbery total for the county, which includes streetrobberies, store robberies and all manner of holdups includingbanks, was not yet available for the entire year, but it appearedheaded to exceed past numbers. In recent years, the total hasfluctuated between 400 and 550, and there were 484 robberies in2005.
But the county already had recorded 512 reported robberiesthrough November, police said. At that pace, Fairfax would wind upwith more than 550 robberies -- at least a 14 percent increase,and the highest total since 1981.
Police said they weren't exactly sure why the spike in bankrobberies occurred last year. Mary Mulrenan, a police spokeswoman,pointed out that 'we had an exceptional number of bank robbers whochose to rob more than one bank.'
Serial bank robbers apparently included Edward R. Agurs Jr., theman shot and killed by a police officer Dec. 13; Agurs hadapparently held up three banks on Richmond Highway in a two-weekperiod. Another man robbed three banks in the Alexandria area inlate October and early November, and one man robbed two banks inwestern Fairfax in September.
Of the 43 bank holdups, police had solved 32 of them, anextremely high rate, Mulrenan said. In most years, detectives solveabout one-third of all robberies, and, in 2005, Fairfax policecleared 26 percent of bank robberies.
Though overall crime statistics are not yet available for 2006,Fairfax annually posts a notably low crime rate for an area withmore than 1million residents. For violent crime -- murder, rape,robbery and aggravated assault -- the difference between Fairfaxand its neighbors has been dramatic.
In 2005, Montgomery County, with a population of 948,000, had1,035 robberies and a rate of about 219 violent crimes per 100,000residents, according to statistics provided by the Fairfax police.
By comparison, Fairfax recorded a violent-crime rate of fewerthan 98 crimes per 100,000 residents. Neighboring Arlington Countyand Alexandria both had violent-crime rates of more than 200 per100,000 residents, or double Fairfax's rate. Even Prince WilliamCounty, with a violent-crime rate of 180 per 100,000 residents, wasalmost twice as violent as Fairfax.
Still, the rise in robberies concerned Fairfax police commanders.One component of crime that Lt. Col. Suzanne Devlin, deputy chief ofinvestigations, focused on was the involvement of teenagers in small-scale holdups.
'We've got a lot of unsupervised youths,' Devlin said. 'They'vegot bad role models, and not enough after-school activities for non-traditional youths, who aren't involved in sports or things likethat. Where do they go? They hit the street. And what do boys do?They get into trouble.'
Devlin said Fairfax police have become deeply involved inprograms to divert teens from the streets. Officers participate inthe Partnership for Youth, which identifies at-risk youths and linesup a variety of social programs to steer them into healthyalternatives.
The department also supports the Job Hut, a Manassas-basedprogram that has found jobs for 250 teens in recent years, Devlinsaid.
Officers also use the juvenile diversion program, in which anofficer who spots a troubled teen can get the youth help in stayingout of gangs, getting assistance with school and other usefulprograms, and gives the officer an alternative to hauling the teendown to juvenile court and into the criminal system.
'We're trying to change their choices,' Devlin said.
Experts said there are no definitive answers for crimes rising atcertain times. Edward R. Maguire, professor of administration ofjustice at George Mason University, said research into links betweenthe economy or unemployment rates and crime has reached mixedconclusions, although research has shown that 'we tend to see anincrease . . . when lower-paying jobs are all that becomeavailable.'
John D. Moore, an armed-robbery expert and former police officerin Spokane, Wash.,, said robbery rates tend to be cyclical. He saidwhen police arrest multiple robbers, it can have a relaxing effecton banks and businesses.
'Crime goes down, and people get lackadaisical,' Moore said.
He said the proliferation of small bank branches and theprosperity of credit unions has provided more robbery targets. InFairfax, banks have started popping up in groceries, and suchbranches have been robbed numerous times in recent years.
'The crooks can figure it out just like we can,' Moore said.
Moore also said that his research has shown that fall and winterare heavier robbery seasons, and that the rates can often be boostedby serial robbers. As Mulrenan pointed out, a spate of serial bankrobbers hit Fairfax this fall. And one man, suspected in robbery orlarceny at a dozen 7-Eleven stores in December, was arrestedSunday, police said.
'It's not a surprise to have a number of robberies take place'toward the end of the year, Moore said. 'It's the season.'
