Officials Credit Special Enforcement Campaigns for Violent Crime Reduction

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares says the violent crime rate in the Commonwealth is down 11 percent since 2023, largely thanks to a pair of special law enforcement campaigns.

In a special ceremony, Miyares joined Governor Glenn Youngkin to tout the programs’ accomplishments on the two-year anniversary.

Speaking before a crowd of law enforcement, local and state leaders in Roanoke, Miyares said the program is about crime prevention, intervention and prosecution. Developing strong partnerships between law enforcement, gun safety initiatives, and gang prevention advocates is also a hallmark of Ceasefire Virginia.

“We promised two years ago when we launched this that we were going to measure it and we were going to report back to you with results. We’re happy to say that results have been simply stunning,” added Miyares.

Heightened Enforcement Campaigns

Violent crime dragnet campaigns, STEP (Strategic Traffic Enforcement Program) campaigns, and DUI roadblocks are the three most common kinds of intense law enforcement campaigns in Loudoun County.

Ceasefire Virginia and Operation Bold Blue Line are violent crime dragnet campaigns. Officers aggressively enforce laws and investigators aggressively pursue criminal charges. Frequently, overzealous officers commit Fourth Amendment search and seizure violations, Fifth Amendment illegal interrogation violations, or other constitutional violations as they do their jobs. Police investigators often build cases on paid informants whose credibility is suspect, at best.

If an arrest involves one of these procedural violations, a Leesburg criminal defense lawyer can usually get the case thrown out of court before the merits of the case are even up for consideration.

STEP campaigns are aggressive, nonviolent, traffic enforcement campaigns. DUI is a frequent target, as is speeding and other moving violations.

Usually, state or federal grant money pays officer overtime and other program expenses. To justify the expensive investment, officers are under considerable pressure to make arrests. Therefore, procedural violations are common in these cases as well.

Generally, these violations are a lack of reasonable suspicion or a lack of probable cause. Officers cannot detain people because they don’t look right. The officer must have some evidence of wrongdoing. Probable cause, the standard of proof for an arrest, is a much higher standard that’s very close to beyond any reasonable doubt, the standard of proof at trial.

DUI roadblocks usually pop up around Christmas, New Years Day, and other high drinking and driving holidays. Many of the aforementioned constitutional protections, with the noteworthy exception of Fifth Amendment violations, are unavailable in these cases. However, the checkpoint must meet rigid standards. Any shortcoming, however minor, renders the checkpoint illegal.

Multi-Agency Investigations

Many enhanced enforcement campaigns are doomed from the start, because of the pressures and special rules discussed above. Likewise, many multi-agency campaigns are doomed from the start, mostly because of communication problems.

In movies and TV shows, multiple law enforcement agencies work together seamlessly to get the bad guy. But real life is different. Different agencies have different agendas. Furthermore, the “king of the hill” effect usually looms large in these cases. Many investigators don’t like taking orders from people who aren’t their immediate supervisors.

We mentioned Fourth Amendment violations above. Such infractions are very common in multi-agency investigations.

For example, Agency A officers stakeout a warehouse and believe they have probable cause to search it. So, they ask Agency B officers to obtain a search warrant. Agency A assumes Agency B obtained the warrant, so they search the warehouse without the warrant in hand. Therefore, they may exceed the scope of the permissible search (e.g. the judge forbids officers from searching a storage area).

Or, Agency A officers may use an informant who, due to past unreliability, is on the dirty list with Agency B. As a result, the judge could refuse to issue a warrant, making any search illegal, at least in most cases.

Connect With a Thorough Loudoun County Lawyer

There’s a big difference between an arrest and a conviction in criminal law. For a confidential consultation with an experienced criminal defense attorney in Leesburg, contact Simms Showers, LLP, Attorneys at Law. We routinely handle matters throughout Northern Virginia.

Source:

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