by James A. Bacon
Alongside the continued rise in the number of homicides in Virginia, the year 2022 saw a dramatic increase in the number of assaults on police. Two officers were killed and 2,903 assaulted, according to data released by the Virginia State Police in its 2022 Crime in Virginia report.
The number of injuries spiked as well: 703 officers experiencing minor injuries and 61 suffering major injuries ranging from severe lacerations and broken bones to internal injuries and loss of consciousness.
The state police report provides no commentary on what might be behind the jump in assaults and injuries.
In previous posts, I argued that the surge in homicides experienced in the three years since the George Floyd protests reflects anti-racism rhetoric, denunciations of police, and policies designed to reduce “mass incarceration.” That explanation would not seem to fit the assaults on police. Attacks on police actually declined in 2020, the year of the George Floyd protests and the peak of anti-police hysteria.
The number of incidents described as “ambush, no warning” doubled between 2019 and 2022 — from 7 to 13 — but the number was insignificant compared to the total. That would suggest that only a tiny fraction of assaults is premediated. The overwhelming majority of incidents arise spontaneously from encounters with police.
The biggest change occurred in the number of incidents classified as attempting arrests. The number bounced around in a narrow range between 2019 and 2021, and then leaped by 2/3 in 2022.
Assaults on police while attempting arrest
2019 — 432
2020 — 407
2021 — 396
2022 — 642
The number of assaults while responding to disturbance calls increased as well.
Assaults on police while responding to disturbance calls
2019 — 459
2020 — 499
2021 — 480
2022 — 766
Percentagewise, the number of assaults that occurred while transporting prisoners, during traffic stops and pursuits, and handling people with mental illness increased notably, too, but the numbers were smaller.
Source: 2022 Crime in Virginia
This phenomenon is cause for concern. While politicians, pundits and activists may have dialed down their defund-the-police rhetoric in the past year or more, the public — or, more precisely, that portion of the public most likely to encounter the police — remains hostile to police. While distrust has roots in past police abuses, especially among African Americans, I would suggest that it has been aggravated by the widespread belief in systemic racism. If residents of inner-city African-American communities accept the proposition that the “system” is racist and riddled with injustice, they are more likely to respond violently in encounters with police.
The police report does not break down assaults by race of the assailant, however, so it is impossible to determine from the publicly available data if race is a major factor in the increase.
The surge in assaults is worrisome for another reason. Policing is a potentially dangerous business. If assaults on police are up, that’s just another reason for officers to retire early or find another job, perpetuating the difficulty in rebuilding police departments to full staff. Violent encounters also increase the probability of a police shooting, which would lead to another political/media furor… which would fuel mistrust… which would lead to more resistance and violence.
