6 percent of Pr. Williams arrestees in '09 were illegal immigrants
By: Freeman Klopott

April 22, 2010


Six percent of people arrested on criminal charges by Prince William County police in 2009 were illegal immigrants. It is the first full year that statistics for the county's illegal-immigrant crackdown are available.

The county also reported that its 2009 crime rate reached a 15-year low, despite a nearly 11 percent increase in violent crimes over those committed in 2008.

The spike in violence was driven by a doubling of reported rapes, going from 28 to 57 in 2009. Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Chinn noted that 18 of those rapes occurred before 2009 and only two of the reported offenders were not known to the victim. Police have already closed 48 of the 57 rape cases. Three rapes in 2009 were linked to the East Coast rapist, a man in his mid-30s who has prowled the coastline from Virginia to Maine for 13 years and is linked to 17 attacks.

Chinn declined to comment on why overall crime had dropped in the county.

Nearly 88 percent of the 1,197 illegal immigrants who were arrested were charged with misdemeanors or traffic violations, the bulk of which were for driving without a license, driving under the influence and public drunkenness.

In 2008, the county began participating in a federal program that trains local enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration laws. But the policy changed three times that year, making 2009 the first full year of statistics covering the program.


fklopott@washingtonexaminer.com


Breakdown of illegal-immigrant arrests in Prince William County by percentage of total arrests for each crime:
Murder: 0%

Rape: 8%

Robbery: 3%

Aggravated assault: 9%

Burglary: 4%

Prostitution: 27%

Public drunkenness: 20%

Arson: 11%

Fraud: 13%

Driving without a license: 10%

Driving under the influence: 13%


http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local ... 18954.html