Certain types of crime increased in the City of Alexandria in 2022, while other types were down, according to an Alexandria Police Department presentation to City Council.
Compared to 2019, before the pandemic, Alexandria residents are reporting more larceny, auto theft, burglaries and robberies. Destruction of property is up significantly compared to pre-pandemic times. Homicides are up, but rapes and aggravated assault are down, as are liquor law and drug violations. (Possession of small amounts of marijuana was decriminalized in mid 2020.)
The data is divided into "Part 1" and "Part 2" crime statistics based on the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System.
One bright spot: The Alexandria Co-Response Program (ACORP) is successfully diverting behavioral health calls away from arrest. ACORP started in Ocober 2021 and is a partnership between the Alexandria Police Department and the Department of Community and Human Services, where a specially trained law enforcement officer and a licensed behavioral health professional respond together to calls for people who are having a behavioral health crisis.
There were 2,387 behavioral health calls between October 2021 and September 2022. An ACORP team was able to respond to 354 of those calls. Only 2% of those calls resulted in an arrest, and 17% resulted in nonvoluntary transport to a hospital. More than 60% were referred to a community service.
"According to the Department of Justice, collaborative partnerships between law enforcement agencies and mental health providers as co-responding teams produce better outcomes for community members, police officers and agencies. Improvements include an increase in safety for both officers and individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis, an increase in access to behavioral healthcare and connections to treatment, fewer arrests, and more diversions away from the criminal justice system and into the treatment system," city officials reported when launching the program in late 2021.
In a move toward further transparency, this month APD will start providing officers with Body Worn Cameras (BWC). "This in turn will create greater transparency and accountability in its interactions with the public," according to APD. The goal is for every sworn officer to have a BWC by a year from now. While the cameras only provide a limited perspective, they have been invaluable in controversial cases over the past several years.
City officials are seeking feedback on the current draft of the city's official Body Worn Camera Policy. Feedback can be submitted here.
In addition, in recent weeks, the Alexandria City School Board voted to add weapons-detection systems to four schools in Alexandria — Francis Hammond Middle School, George Washington Middle School and Alexandria City High School (both campuses). A community survey on the issue showed widespread support of metal detectors in schools. They will be put in place as part of a pilot program in May.
