Data Proves Black People Treated Differently in Fairfax County

Arrests of Black people disproportional in every police district in the county.

Source: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/reports/arrest-data

By Ken Moore

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

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#Of all arrests made by police officers in the county, Black people are arrested 38.54 percent of the time. Black people are targets of police use of force 45.63 percent of the time in the county. Black people make up less than 10 percent of the population. Black people are arrested and the subject of police force disproportionately more.

#The data speaks for itself:

• #In the Fair Oaks Police District, Black people were arrested 43.79 percent of the time but make up 7.22 percent of the population.
• #In the Franconia Police District, Black people were arrested 41.65 percent of the time but make up 16.76 percent of the population.
• #In the Mason Police District, Black people were arrested 54.08 percent of the time but make up 10.8 percent of the population.
• #In the McLean Police District, Black people were arrested 43.34 percent of the time but make up 4.69 percent of the population.
• #In the Mount Vernon Police District, Black people were arrested 41.63 percent of the time but make up 16.84 percent of the population.
• #In the Reston Police District, Black people were arrested 33.04 percent of the time but make up 8.24 percent of the population.
• #In the Sully Police District, Black people were arrested 23.09 percent of the time but make up 7.3 percent of the population.
• #In the West Springfield Police District, Black people were arrested 25.54 percent of the time but make up 8.1 percent of the population.
• #Countywide, Black people are arrested 38.54 percent of the time although they make up 9.73 percent of the population.

#The Ad Hoc Police Practices Review Commission made explicit recommendations with regard to the public availability of such data, said Phillip A. Niedzielski-Eichner, who served on the ad hoc commission and is the Providence planning commissioner.

#“The Board of Supervisors and Police leadership agreed with these recommendations. Nearly five years after completion of the Ad Hoc Commission’s work, the data released and the Department’s requirement to manually generate these reports, indicates that, while progress is being made, it is slow in how it is generated and inadequate in its format,” he said.

#Latinx people weren't even accounted for in the latest round of data offered by police, mentioned only in traffic stops.

#See https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/reports/arrest-data