Protecting our children, families, and older neighbors from senseless crime should be the top priority for Fairfax politicians. Sadly, it isn’t
Nothing local governments do is more important than protecting citizens from those who would seek to prey on our residents.
But local politicians in Fairfax County seem reluctant to get serious in the fight against crime. They are more driven by ideology than a real concern for the safety of our families and our neighbors.
Fairfax County is short 200 police officers, we’re down 40 officers in the Dranesville district alone.
And while Fairfax County is still one of the safest places in America to live, we are starting to experience an increase in the number of burglaries, carjackings, and home invasions.
Especially worrisome is the increase in dangerous drugs entering our communities and our schools. Fentanyl is especially deadly. It doesn’t even require our children to use it. Just touching surfaces contaminated by Fentanyl could be enough to poison a child.
Some progress has recently been made. New police recruits are being offered bonuses to join the force. And new officers can finally expect a salary more closely aligned with neighboring jurisdictions.
But our highly experienced and most trusted mid-level and senior officers are still woefully underpaid. And they’re leaving or retiring in droves.
We can do better. We can make the fight against crime a higher priority. We can offer better pay and benefits to experienced officers. We can expand our drug enforcement units. And we can show our law enforcement personnel that we have their backs.
I’m a centrist. To me, fighting crime isn’t a Republican or a Democrat issue. It’s something every one of us should care about. Being safe in our schools, homes, businesses, and parks isn’t negotiable.
But it starts with local representatives making the fight against crime its number one priority among many priorities.
