Fairfax County supervisors on Jan. 25 unanimously approved an agreement to fund the county’s share for the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force.
In addition to the Virginia State Police, law-enforcement agencies in 10 area jurisdictions participate in the task force, including ones in Fairfax, Arlington, Loudoun, Fauquier and Prince William counties; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park; and towns of Herndon, Leesburg, and Vienna.
The regional gang task force conducts intervention, prevention and enforcement efforts in regard to gang recruitment, involvement and criminal activity. The task force’s members serve about 3 million people in the region and seek to end gang violence through education, prevention and enforcement, county officials said.
Fairfax County police have taken part in the task force since its inception in 2003 and have assigned two full-time detectives to the group.
Each jurisdiction participating in the task force usually pays $25,000 each year to offset the group’s operational costs, but officials have reduced that amount to $15,000 in fiscal year 2022 because of pandemic-related budget reductions.
Because of pandemic-related staffing costs, the cities of Alexandria and Fairfax have dropped out of the funding agreement, but still will take part in the task force, county staff said.