Police: Vienna Becoming Safer, Annual Data Reveals

In many ways, Vienna is getting safer.

According to annual statistics for 2013 released by the Vienna Police Department on Thursday, there were no homicides or abductions/kidnappings in Vienna in 2013, and residents reported the lowest number of forcible sexual assaults and robberies in years.

Overall arrests for criminal offenses were also down to their lowest level since at least 2009, but offenses for drugs and narcotics were up significantly over past years, the data shows.

During 2013, the Vienna Police Department saw an increase in the number of calls and reports of phone scams. The scams included threats of arrest, utilities shutoffs and more – unless the resident paid the caller immediately.

Interesting data points:

·      The department wrote 838 parking tickets in 2013 (up from 814 in 2012, but down from 948 in 2011).

·      There were 81 accidents with injuries reported in 2013 – an increase from 68 in both 2011 and 2012.

·      There were 65 DWIs in 2013, the lowest number in the past five years.

·      There were 110 drug/narcotics violations in 2013, up from a 5-year low of 67 in 2011.

·      One forcible sex offense was reported in 2013, the lowest in the past five years.

·      There were two reported robberies in 2013, also the lowest in the past five years.

“In 2014, our 66th year of service, the Town of Vienna Police Department will continue to move forward and make advances in crime fighting techniques. Vienna remains one of the best locations to raise a family due in large part to the proactive policing,” according to the annual report.