Law enforcement agencies in Lee County reported 50 violent crimes in 2025, up from 32 the year before, according to Virginia State Police data. Statewide, violent crime fell about 5% over the same year.
The figures come from the State Police’s online crime statistics portal, which the State Police say has replaced their printed Crime in Virginia report. The portal is updated as agencies send in corrections, so the figures here are as of November 4, 2026. With counts this small, a few cases can swing a year’s total a long way.
Violent crime, year by year
The State Police count murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault as violent crime, and they count crimes against people by the number of victims.
| Year | Violent crimes | Aggravated assaults | Rapes reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43 | 29 | 13 |
| 2022 | 49 | 36 | 9 |
| 2023 | 34 | 26 | 8 |
| 2024 | 32 | 27 | 3 |
| 2025 | 50 | 35 | 14 |
Most of the 2025 increase came from two categories. Aggravated assaults rose from 27 to 35, and reported rapes from 3 to 14. The 2025 total is close to the 49 recorded in 2022, so the county is back near an earlier level rather than at a new high.
Even so, the 2025 count put Lee County’s violent crime rate at 230.89 per 100,000 residents, above Virginia’s 211.91. In 2023 and 2024 the county was well below the state. Nearly all the violent crimes, 47 of 50, were reported by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
Lower overall, higher for drugs
Counting every major offense the State Police track, from assault and theft to vandalism and drug cases, Lee County reported 749 crimes in 2025, compared with 664 in 2024 and 744 in 2023. Its overall rate, 3,458.79 per 100,000, was about 19% below the state’s 4,247.71.
Drug cases are the exception. The county recorded 158 drug offenses in 2025, up from 124. By The Lee Daily Register’s calculation from the State Police counts and population figures, that is about 730 per 100,000 residents, roughly twice Virginia’s rate of about 355. Drug offenses made up 21% of the county’s reported crimes, compared with about 8% statewide. State health data show meth was involved in most overdose deaths in the county from 2023 through 2025.
Which cases get solved
Police consider a crime cleared when someone is arrested for it or when it is closed for reasons outside their control, such as the death of the suspect. Lee County’s clearance rates were well above the state’s for some crimes and below it for others.
| Offense, 2025 | Lee County cases | Cleared | Lee County rate | Virginia rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drug offenses | 158 | 131 | 82.9% | 64.7% |
| Aggravated assault | 35 | 27 | 77.1% | 60.1% |
| Rape | 14 | 5 | 35.7% | 36.5% |
| Larceny and theft | 197 | 47 | 23.9% | 22.0% |
| Burglary | 45 | 8 | 17.8% | 27.7% |
| Motor vehicle theft | 28 | 3 | 10.7% | 19.2% |
Car thefts nearly doubled, from 15 in 2024 to 28 in 2025, and only three of the 2025 cases had been cleared. Burglaries were cleared at a lower rate than the state average.
Who reports the crimes
Four agencies report crime in the county. In 2025, the Sheriff’s Office reported 617 of the 749 crimes, the State Police 68, the Pennington Gap Police Department 57 and the Jonesville Police Department 7. The towns’ departments report only what happens inside town limits.
Clearance rates for drug cases differed sharply between the two largest local agencies. The Sheriff’s Office cleared 95% of its 105 drug cases in 2025. The Pennington Gap Police Department cleared 7 of its 21.
The State Police data count reported crimes, not convictions. For context on the county’s drug problem, The Lee Daily Register has also looked at how the county is spending its opioid settlement money.
