Chief Sean Fardy: Falls Church ‘continues to be one of the safest’ as shoplifting rises and traffic crashes fall

Chief Sean Fardy presented the Falls Church Police Department’s 2025 annual report on July 13, saying the city remains among the safest independent cities in the Northern Virginia region but that some property crimes rose. "The city of Falls Church...continues to be at top of the list as one of the safest independent cities in [the] Northern Virginia region," Fardy said, and added that "we continue to see improvements every year."

Fardy reported 505 offenses arising out of 468 incidents in 2025, with violent crime and crimes against persons remaining very low. Burglaries dropped to six for the year. The department flagged a rise in shoplifting offenses (93 reported in 2025), which accounted for roughly half of larceny theft offenses; staff said most shoplifting incidents were concentrated at a small number of convenience, grocery and liquor stores.

On traffic safety, Fardy said the department and partner agencies have implemented engineering, education and enforcement responses; he reported a 22% reduction in reportable crashes in the first half of 2026 versus the same period in 2025. Councilmembers asked where pedestrian and bicycle incidents cluster and how to capture near‑misses; the chief said crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists occur primarily at crossings and that the city is working with Virginia Tech’s Transportation Institute to collect near‑miss data.

Fardy thanked council for funding technology upgrades (portable and mobile radios, mobile computers, body‑worn and in‑car cameras) and said the department is on track for an independent accreditation assessment next year or the following year. He also raised staffing constraints — "we only have 38 officers" including command staff — and said special events create overtime pressures that make early coordination with police important.

Council members pressed on several tactical issues: the performance and placement of automated enforcement cameras (new intersections at Broad & Roosevelt and Broadway & Washington), school‑zone camera compliance, stop‑arm bus violations, e‑bike enforcement, and 911 call routing during storms (the chief noted calls can be routed to neighboring centers depending on cell towers and emphasized monitoring specific incidents). Fardy said the Eden Center police post has had a positive effect on localized illegal activity and that the West End station is in final design and expected to open later in the year.

What’s next: the chief said staff will continue to refine crash and near‑miss data, monitor shoplifting hot spots with businesses, and follow up with council on specific camera locations and stop‑arm enforcement analytics.