McLean District Police Commander Shares Priorities, Challenges with MCA

The new McLean District Police Commander told the McLean Citizens Association that traffic and pedestrian safety are his top priorities.

Capt. Dan Janickey, a 23-year veteran of the Fairfax County Police Department,  began his tenure as the district’s commander in early February. He met the MCA at its monthly meeting last week.

Janickey said his department will focus on preventing pedestrian-vehicle collisions and easing traffic in highly congested areas.  

The commander said police officers will continue to issue tickets not only to motorists, but also to pedestrians, including instances in which individuals arbitrarily cross roads and disregard crosswalks. He said four pedestrians have been struck by a vehicle this year. One of the victims was fatally injured.

Janickey acknowledged that the arrival of the new  Silver Line next year will present the McLean District with a major new challenge. 

He said he has told the Fairfax County police chief that any future increase in police  staffing should come to McLean because of  the growth of Tysons Corner, the coming of four new Metro stop and the growth in the Merrifeld area which is also in the McLean District.

Janickey said the four metro stops now under construction in Tysons Corner ". . . creates a new policing for us that we have not dealt with before. We need more officers to deter some of the” crime they know will occur.

He said it would be 12 to 18 months before McLean residents begin to see traffic increase associated with the Silver Line’s four stations in Tysons.

Fairfax County's police department is the 33rd largest in the country with about 1,400 sworn officers – 132 of them assigned to Janickey’s district.  

McLean low crime rate has remained since he took over the department, he said. He said he is also  responsible for the SWAT, bomb and negotiations teams in the district. He said only two stolen vehicles and two street robberies have been reported since February.