By Linda Cicoira
Reports of crimes were down by about 11 percent on the Eastern Shore in 2017 compared to the previous year and the number of murders or willful manslaughters dropped by 56 percent, according to an annual report released last week and compiled by the Uniform Crime Reporting
Section of the state police. County and state police investigated a total of 1,181 crimes in 2017 compared to 1,323 incidents in 2016.
Last year, the Accomack County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) investigated 843 incidents, compared to 944 criminal cases in 2016. That is about a hundred fewer incidents.
The Northampton County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) investigated 156 incidents in 2017 compared to 192 in 2016
or 36 fewer crimes.
State police officers in Accomack handled 143 incidents in 2017 compared to 132 in 2016, about eight percent more cases. In Northampton, the state police handled 55 cases in 2016 compared to 39 cases last year or nearly 30 percent fewer.
A breakdown showed three murders or non-negligent manslaughters were reported in Accomack in 2017. There was a kidnapping, seven forcible rapes, 11 other forcible sex offenses, eight robberies, 22 aggravated assaults, 327 simple assault/intimidations, five arsons, 106 burglaries, 215 larcenies, 18 vehicle thefts, 21 counterfeiting or forgery cases, 39 frauds, eight embezzlements, four stolen property cases, 152 destruction/ damage/vandalism cases, 111 drug/narcotic offenses, a non-forcible sex offense, two pornography cases, and 24 weapon law violations.
In Northampton, there were one murder or non-negligent manslaughter, three kidnappings, three forcible sex offenses, two robberies, seven aggravated assaults, 53 simple assaults/intimidations, 17 burglaries, 38 larcenies, two vehicle thefts, six counterfeiting/forgeries, 26 frauds, an embezzlement, a stolen property, 17 destruction/damage/vandalism, 29 drug/narcotic offenses, a pornography case, and four weapon law violations.
Cape Charles Police handled 29 reports that included a forcible sex offense, an aggravated assault, five simple assault/intimidations, 10 larcenies, two frauds, six stolen properties, two destruction/damage/vandalism cases, and two drug/narcotic cases.
Chincoteague Police handled 98 criminal reports including a kidnapping, two forcible rapes, another forcible sex offense, a robbery, an aggravated assault, 18 simple assault/intimidations, an arson, nine burglaries, 31 larcenies, two vehicle thefts, two counterfeiting/forgeries, five frauds, an embezzlement, 12 destruction/damage/vandalism cases, 24 drug/narcotic offenses,
and a pornography case.
Exmore Police Department handled 50 incidents including a forcible rape, an aggravated assault, seven simple assault/intimidations, two burglaries, 24 larcenies, four frauds, a stolen property, eight destruction/damage/vandalism cases, seven drug/narcotic offenses, and three weapon law violations.
Onancock Police Department handled 79 criminal reports including a forcible rape, seven aggravated assaults, 14 simple assault/intimidations, three burglaries, 18 larcenies, two vehicle thefts, 27 destruction/damage/vandalism cases, eight drug/narcotic offenses, a prostitution case, and three weapon law violations.
Onley Police Department handled 39 criminal cases with a kidnapping, a robbery, an aggravated assault, seven simple assault/intimidations, a burglary, 20 larcenies, a counterfeiting/ forgery, two frauds, a stolen property, five destruction/damage/vandalism cases, a drug/narcotic case, and a weapon
law violation.
Parksley Police Department handled nine cases including four simple assault/intimidations, a burglary, two larcenies, a destruction/damage/vandalism, and a drug/narcotic case.
In Accomack, a total of 723 adults were arrested. They included four adults for murder, four for kidnapping, one for a forcible sex offense, one for robbery, nine for aggravated assault, 90 for simple assault/intimidation, one for arson, 14 for burglary, 40 for larceny, four for motor vehicle theft, eight for counterfeiting/forgery, 10 for fraud, five for embezzlement,
three for stolen property, seven for vandalism, 117 for drug narcotic offenses, one for pornography, and nine for weapon violations. There were also two arrests for writing bad checks, six for disorderly conduct, 99 for DUI, 88 for drunkenness, 4 for non-forcible family offenses, six for liquor law violations, nine for trespassing, and 181 other violations that are not traffic related.
There were also 14 juveniles arrested in Accomack with one being for larceny, four for drug/narcotics, three for curfew/loitering/vagrancy, one for DUI, four for liquor law violations, and one for trespassing.
There were 341 adults arrested in Northampton in 2017. Those included three for kidnapping, one for robbery, seven for aggravated assault, 50 for simple assault/intimidation, one for burglary, 18 for larceny, two for counterfeiting/forgery, eight for fraud, 10 for stolen property, three for vandalism, 45 for drug/narcotic offenses, and three for weapon law violations.
There were 15 juveniles arrested in Northampton in 2017 including six for simple assault/ intimidations, one for larceny, one for vehicle theft, one for stolen property, five for drug/narcotic offenses, and one for other offenses not including traffic crimes.
“Crimes Against the Person” occurred once every four minutes, 56 seconds, in Virginia, in 2017. There were 85,710 “Crimes Against Society,” or one every six minutes, eight seconds, statewide.
There were 455 murders or non-negligent manslaughters in the state in 2017; 1,585 abductions; 5,736 forcible sex offenses; 98,610 assaults; 147 non-forcible sex offenses; 4,320 robberies; 809 arsons; 18,396 burglaries; 125,068 larcenies; 9,947 vehicle thefts; 6,951 counterfeiting or forgery offenses; 35,230 frauds; 2,789 embezzlements; 1,542 property thefts; 55,110 property destructions or vandalisms; 27 briberies; 70,974 drug offenses; 1,545 pornography or obscene material offenses; 57 gambling offenses; 754 prostitutions; and 12,380 weapons law violations reported.
There are 57 sworn officers working for the Accomack County Sheriff’s Office. Of those, 48 were men or more than 84 percent. Eleven civilians work for Sheriff Todd Godwin. All 10 of the sworn officers who work for the Chincoteague Police Department are men. There are also four civilian employees in the CPD. Onancock Police Department has five officers with one being female. Five men are in the Onley Police Department. Parksley has three sworn officers including a woman. There is one officer, male, in the Tangier Island Police Department.
There are 67 sworn officers in the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office employed by Sheriff David Doughty. That includes 49 men or more than 73 percent. Doughty also has 17 civilian workers. There are six male officers each in the Cape Charles and Exmore police departments and no women.
