| MANASSAS, VIRGINIA – Prince William County candidate for Commonwealth Attorney, Matt Lowery, along with county supervisors Jeanine Lawson and Yesli Vega will be holding a press conference Tuesday afternoon at 12:30 at the Prince William County Courthouse to address the significant increase in homicides and other crimes occurring in Prince William County.
WHAT: PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSING MAJOR CRIME INCREASE IN PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY
WHEN: TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 2023, 12:30PM
WHERE: PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY COURTHOUSE, 9311 LEE AVENUE, MANASSAS, VIRGINIA
Since 2019, violent crime, defined by the Virginia State Police and FBI, and adopted by the Prince William County Police Department, has increased by 70%. Last year, homicides in the County doubled and have increased by 150% since 2020. To date the number of homicides committed in the county this year stands at 18 and is on pace to easily become the deadliest year in Prince William County's history.
The overall crime rate and violent crime rate had fallen for decades under the leadership of longtime Commonwealth Attorney, Paul Ebert. Since his retirement in 2019, violent crime has increased by 70% as the results of poor prosecution policy, reductions in the percentage of the county budget allocated to police, and a dwindling number of police officers have taken hold.
As violent crime has increased by 70%, the number of felony indictments in the county have fallen by a similar percentage, while the current sworn police force is more than three-hundred officers shy of the county's own level-of-service-standards as outlined in the county's own comprehensive plan. Notably, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors have not allocated funding for any additional police officers in the last two budget cycles, despite the known increases in crime, and record tax revenue.
Lowery, a longtime county resident and prosecutor, Vega, a law enforcement officer with experience in three Northern Virginia agencies, and Lawson, a mother and longtime member of the Board, will be addressing these issues and demanding changes in policy to protect Prince William County's residents.
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