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Fairfax County recorded declines across most major crime categories in 2024, including homicides, forcible sex offenses and vehicle thefts. Shoplifting was the glaring exception, climbing nearly 18% countywide.
Police Chief Kevin Davis presented the year-end figures May 20 during a Board of Supervisors Safety and Security Committee meeting. He also reviewed first-quarter 2025 trends and the police department’s recruitment efforts.
Homicides fell from 17 in 2023 to 14 in 2024, and police closed every homicide investigation reported during the year. Still, Davis said zero is the only acceptable number. Forty-one percent of the homicides were domestic-related or involved victims and perpetrators who knew one another.
Forcible sex offenses declined 16%, from 373 to 313. Aggravated assaults dropped 4.2%, from 643 to 616, while robberies edged up 1.1%.
Commercial burglaries decreased 10.6%, from 170 to 152, and residential burglaries fell 22.2%. Motor vehicle thefts dropped 19.7%, from 1,216 to 977. Vehicle fatalities were cut in half, declining from 14 to seven.
Board Chairman Jeff McKay said jurisdictions nationwide would welcome figures like those reported in Fairfax County, describing the county as the safest jurisdiction of its size.
Tysons bucked the shoplifting trend
Police recorded 9,615 shoplifting incidents across Fairfax County in 2024, a 17.7% increase from 8,169 the previous year. Every patrol district reported an increase except McLean, which includes Tysons.
Shoplifting in that district declined nearly 20%. Davis attributed the improvement to the Tysons Urban Team, cooperation with Tysons landlord Macerich, safety cameras monitoring routes into and out of the area, and concentrated enforcement against organized retail crime.
Police have identified suspects and made arrests connected to organized retail theft around Tysons. The urban-team model permanently assigns officers to the area, allowing them to become familiar with the community and local businesses.
Early 2025 figures showed continued declines in homicides, forcible sex offenses, aggravated assaults and robberies. Shoplifting remained flat following three consecutive years of increases. Fairfax County had recorded three pedestrian deaths so far in 2025, matching the total at the same point in 2024.
Police hiring accelerated
The department received 2,496 officer applications in 2024 and hired 140 new officers, producing a net staffing gain of 18. Its hiring timeline dropped from 11.1 months to 5.7 months.
Since 2022, the department has awarded 375 hiring-incentive bonuses. Women accounted for 20% of the force, up from 16% in 2021, while several recruits were multilingual and a large share held college degrees.
Staffing projections call for the department to reach 95% of its target by 2028 and full staffing by 2030. Increasing the number of annual police academy classes from three to four is expected to help.
The sharp difference between applications and hires drew questions from Supervisor Rodney Lusk. Davis said some applicants are disqualified because they are not truthful during background investigations.
Investigators encourage candidates to disclose past conduct honestly because the department can often work through incidents from their youth, Davis said. Given that officers can charge people with crimes and use deadly force, however, the department cannot overlook problems involving an applicant’s truthfulness.