As challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic persist, the Rockville City Police Department continues its commitment to community policing, as detailed in a 2021 crime report that analyzes the year’s crime statistics and details RCPD initiatives.
“Despite all the challenges, we continue to focus on the importance of community policing and strengthening community relationships by demonstrating accountability and transparency,” Chief Victor V. Brito wrote in a message introducing the report. “All the Department’s accomplishments are a direct result of many people working together to do things right. Exceptional personnel and community support are vital to the Department’s continued growth and success.”
Each year, the department prepares a crime report under the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System.
RCPD’s 66 officers responded to 15,877 calls for service in 2021, or 68% of all calls within Rockville’s city limits to city or county police or the county sheriff’s office.
Overall, between 2020 and 2021, crimes against people, which include homicides, assaults and sex offenses, increased by 25.1%, from 422 offenses in 2020 to 528 offenses in 2021.
Crimes against property, including burglaries, robberies, thefts and vandalism, decreased by 1.2% (from 1,603 to 1,584).
Crimes against society, including drug, prostitution and weapons offenses, decreased by 26%, from 215 to 159, including a 35.3% decrease in drug/narcotic violations.
City police responded to 35 reports of heroin or opioid overdoses in 2021, a 52% increase from 2020, and three reports of heroin or opioid possession, a 66% decrease. There was one report of opioid sales. Rockville’s Mayor and Council have prioritized awareness of the impact of opioid addiction and education about the opioid epidemic, launching the Rockville Goes Purple campaign in 2018. Learn more at www.rockvillemd.gov/rockvillegoespurple.
The report also includes:
- A table showing arrests by race, gender and age and detailing arrests and citations. In 2021, there were 315 arrests, including 61 for driving under the influence; 8,773 parking tickets issued and 36 firearms seized.
- A table showing detailing citations issued and the operation of the city’s speed camera program.
- A report on complaints of officer misconduct, use-of-force incidents, in-custody deaths and vehicle crashes involving department employees.
- A chart showing calls concerning animals and animal bites, which declined substantially in 2021, by 19% and 12%, respectively.
- A list of Distinguished and Meritorious Service Citations for department employees.
- Photos of how the department is engaging with the community through youth outreach, an annual toy drive and programs such as Drug Take Back Day, Coffee With a Cop, and community Fair and Impartial Policing training.
Find the report, which will be included in an annual report published by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments this summer, at www.rockvillemd.gov/police.