Police Say It's a Pleasure Protecting Manassas Park

Manassas Park Police and other law enforcement officials around the country are being recognized for their life-saving work in honor of National Police Week.

The special week will conclude Saturday for most areas that celebrated its officers, but several law enforcement agencies in Washington D.C. observed National Police Week earlier this month.

 Jimmy Roberts, a lieutenant with the Manassas Park Police Department, said overall, he feels appreciated by the people he protects, but he understands why some are wary of those who wear the uniform and the badge.

 Police are often associated with the negative because of the nature of their work.  They respond to crime scenes, incidents of violence and minor traffic violations, so many people only see law enforcement when something bad happens, Roberts said.

 Manassas Park Police make it a point to interact with residents when there isn’t an emergency. through programs such as the Doing Away With Gangs (DAWGS) initiative and Leaders in Training—both of which are aimed at educating youth, Roberts said.

 The department also has a Crime Prevention Specialist officer who attends home association meetings and interacts with residents, he added.

 Roberts said he enjoys patrolling Manassas Park, as the city's size is a major perk to keeping crime at bay.

 “The citizen-officer ratio is perfect and it's right along with the national average,” Roberts said. “It benefits us having such a condensed area of 2.5 miles. We (officers) are constantly passing each other.”

 Several officers patrolling such a small land area is a reason why Manassas Park’s crime rate is so low,  he said.

 He recalls just one homicide in Manassas Park in his seven years with the department, Roberts said.

 “ … Every time you turn around, there’s a police cruiser going by—that style of policing is very effective,” he said.

 Roberts said he enjoys Manassas Park because you have all the amenities of a small city with access to a major metropolitan, if that’s what you want, he said.

 “Manassas Park is not a bad place to live,” he said. “We don’t have a ‘bad’ area of the city.  We have our areas with issues, but we add manpower to those areas and get the police presence up.”

 Roberts said the violent crimes that do occur are mostly domestic related.

 Unfortunately, domestic violence calls can be some of the most dangerous for officers.

 “Emotions are running high … you may decide to make an arrest and all of a sudden you are the bad guy. You have someone asking, ‘Why are you arresting  my husband?’ or ‘Why you are arresting my wife?’” he said.

 If there are  seven or eight extended family members in the house when an officer is trying to make an arrest, things can easily get tense, he said.

 “That’s when you call for more people wearing uniforms like yours,” Roberts said.

 Police officers of the city don’t really encounter many stranger-on-stranger crimes, he said.

 If it’s not domestic-related, then the victim and the suspect almost always know each other in some way, he said.

 “Very rarely do two strangers just start beating up on each other because they felt like beating someone up,” Roberts said. “It’s going to be a father and son or an uncle or some family.”

 Roberts said he can’t really say what's the worst situation he’s ever encountered as a Manassas Park Police officer. What’s bad to him might not be that serious to an officer patrolling another jurisdiction, he said.

 In any case, the size of Manassas Park makes it easier for officers to call for backup when needed, he said.

 “If you need help, it’s going to come so fast. If something really bad happens, I can probably have another officer here within 30 seconds,” Roberts said as he drove down Manassas Drive Wednesday.  “If I need it, I could probably have officers from Manassas City and Prince William County here within three minutes. We help each other.”

 Since the death of Osama bin Laden, Manassas Park Police have been extra vigilant of the Virginia Railway Expresss station. Because it is directly linked to the nation’s capital, VRE trains or the station could be targets for terrorists looking to avenge bin Laden's death.

 They patrol the area looking for suspicious packages or anyone who seems to be poking around the platform for no good reason, Roberts said.

 The VRE parking lot also is patrolled regularly, as the city has experienced some problems with thieves stealing catalytic converters off commuters’ vehicles, he said.

 Police week ends Saturday, but appreciation can be shown for Manassas Park Police anytime by leaving a comment on Patch.