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Manassas police report mid‑year crime dip, auto thefts and traffic injuries flagged
Summary
Police Chief Douglas Keane told council mid‑year calls for service are slightly down for 2025 and that 'serious and violent' Part 1 crimes are roughly 10% lower compared with the same period last year. The department highlighted rising auto thefts and a marked rise in traffic crashes and injuries and described steps to address traffic enforcement,
Douglas Keane, chief of the Manassas Police Department, presented a mid‑year crime trends briefing comparing January–June 2024 and 2025 data and answered council questions.
Keane said calls for service are "slightly down for 2025," but cautioned that small absolute numbers can produce large percentage swings. He said "serious and violent crime…tend(s) to be down approximately 10%," while noting that robbery counts rose by two incidents and that auto thefts had increased regionally and locally. Keane emphasized the department's public‑education work on vehicle theft prevention and urged residents not to leave keys or fobs in vehicles.
Traffic enforcement emerged as the department's highest near‑term focus. Keane described how enforcement shifts (more officers on traffic duty) can reduce other proactive policing activities; he told council the city added one FTE in FY26 paid from photo‑red light revenues for traffic enforcement. He also warned that a July 1 state change in reportable‑accident thresholds (from $1,500 to $3,000 in property damage) may affect year‑end comparisons of reported accidents.
Council asked for more granular enforcement data (photo red‑light and school‑zone speed enforcement counts, school bus violations) and requested that staff publish the planned public service announcements on school‑start enforcement. Keane said the department's crime analyst will publish an online crime/heat map in September (24‑hour lag expected) and highlighted a growing regional pattern of high‑speed incidents (he cited some drivers at 70+ mph in 35 mph zones).
