public safety | FFXnow

Published May 20, 2026 at 12:45PM | Updated May 20, 2026 at 2:52PM

Scenes from a Jan. 11, 2026 ICE Out for Good protest on Maple Avenue in Vienna (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has taken a mixed approach to bills from Fairfax state Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (D-37) intended to counter the Trump administration’s draconian approach to immigration enforcement.

The governor announced today (Wednesday) that she has signed SB 352 and its House of Delegates companion HB 1482, which ban law enforcement officers from covering their faces, while vetoing legislation (SB 351 and HB 650) that would restrict federal immigration agents from conducting civil arrests in certain public places, including courthouses, schools and health care facilities.

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Fairfax County prosecutor, sheriff defend immigration policies before Congress

By Mary Stachyra Lopez

Published May 15, 2026 at 9:15AM

Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano testifies during a congressional hearing May 14. (Screenshot via YouTube)

Republican lawmakers accused Fairfax County’s top prosecutor and sheriff of being soft on crime and endangering lives due to policies limiting cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement — a charge both denied during a tense congressional hearing yesterday (Thursday).

Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano and Sheriff Stacey Kincaid testified that they do not provide preferential treatment to immigrants, as congressional Republicans repeatedly alleged throughout the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement hearing.

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Chairman McKay lashes out at school board member over budget criticism

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 14, 2026 at 12:45PM | Updated May 14, 2026 at 6:48PM

Hunter Mill District School Board Representative Melanie Meren and Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay (staff photos by Jared Serre)

The growing tension between Fairfax County’s government and schools leaders over funding spilled into public view yesterday (Wednesday) when Hunter Mill District School Board Representative Melanie Meren shared a hostile text exchange with Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay.

In response to a May 7 newsletter where Meren criticized the Board of Supervisors for eliminating high school crossing guards in the county’s fiscal year 2027 budget, adopted on May 5, McKay texted that she “should apologize” for the “crazy words you have put out,” according to screenshots that Meren posted on Facebook and provided directly to FFXnow.

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DOJ investigation part of ‘pattern’ of partisan attacks, Fairfax prosecutor’s office says

By Angela Woolsey and Associated Press

Published May 8, 2026 at 9:15AM

Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano (staff photo by Jared Serre)

The Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office isn’t backing down on its policy guidance for cases involving undocumented immigrants as defendants.

A day after the U.S. Department of Justice announced it’s investigating the policy for potential civil rights violations, a spokesperson for the prosecutors’ office criticized the probe as “the latest example of the Trump Administration’s own ‘pattern or practice’ of misusing the Justice Department to launch partisan attacks.”

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BREAKING: DOJ investigating Fairfax prosecutor over policy on immigrant defendants

By Angela Woolsey

Published May 6, 2026 at 3:50PM | Updated May 6, 2026 at 5:59PM

Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano speaks outside the Fairfax County Courthouse following a Fairfax High School student's sentencing for assault (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

The Trump administration has launched an investigation into the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office over its handling of cases involving undocumented immigrants as defendants.

The Justice Department notified Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano today (Wednesday) that it has opened an investigation into his office’s policy advising prosecutors to consider defendants’ immigration status when making decisions about plea agreements, charges and sentencing.

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FCPD touts drone program, as vendor announces $3.5 billion investment

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 27, 2026 at 9:15AM

Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis answers questions at a press conference in his department's Real Time Crime Center with Skydio (via Skydio/YouTube)

The Fairfax County Police Department’s use of drones has caught the attention of the Trump administration.

Federal officials, including Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios, visited the FCPD’s Real Time Crime Center on Friday (April 24) to hype up the potential of drones to transform public safety and the U.S. economy.

News

FCFRD: Herndon-area apartment fire started by smoking materials in mulch

By Angela Woolsey

Published April 21, 2026 at 11:45AM

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department responds to fire at the Kendrick Court Senior Apartments in McNair (via FCFRD)

Three people were forced out of their homes last week by an apartment fire in the Herndon area that investigators say resulted from improperly discarded smoking materials.

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department was dispatched at 12:42 p.m. last Wednesday (April 15) for reports of an outdoor fire that was spreading to the Kendrick Court Senior Apartments building (13430 Coppermine Road) in McNair.

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Fairfax County police to increase traffic enforcement campaigns this month

By Jared Serre

Published April 6, 2026 at 2:45PM

FCPD officers stand during a Road Shark press conference in 2025 (photo via FCPD/Flickr)

Fairfax County drivers can expect to see an increase in traffic enforcement this month.

Local law enforcement will revive their Road Shark initiative, which aims to reduce speeding and reckless driving, later in April in conjunction with National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, the Fairfax County Police Department said.

News

Crews were repairing natural gas leak when Centreville home exploded, report confirms

By Angela Woolsey

Published March 17, 2026 at 9:15AM

Aerial view of the site of the Feb. 15 natural gas explosion in Centreville (provided by Fairfax County Fire and Rescue to the NTSB)

The natural gas explosion that destroyed a house in Centreville last month and forced dozens of others to be evacuated occurred hours after Washington Gas identified a critical leak in the neighborhood, an initial investigatory report says.

A service technician from the utility, which has multiple gas lines in the area, found a “grade 1” leak outside a home on Belle Plains Drive around 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 15 after the resident reported a “gas odor” about two hours earlier, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

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Fairfax County police intend to partially encrypt radio communications

By Jared Serre

Published March 10, 2026 at 3:45PM

Fairfax County Police Department's in-car radio system (via FCPD/Facebook)

The Fairfax County Police Department is moving forward with plans to partially seal off its radio communications from the public.

The department has proposed encrypting its “main channels” to both limit the disclosure of sensitive information and prevent “someone’s worst day from being used for entertainment,” officers told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at a Safety and Security Committee meeting this afternoon (Tuesday).