ARLINGTON, Va. — The Arlington County police department is changing the way it responds to certain crimes, as it works to hire more police officers.
According to Police Chief Charles "Andy" Penn, the department is authorized to have 376 sworn officers. But currently, the department only has about 290 officers who are able to provide "solo law enforcement services." That's a shortfall of 23%.
Penn attributed the drop in force to a combination of attrition, retirements and officers seeking other opportunities. He said the department remains committed to keeping the people of Arlington County safe.
Chief Penn said the community will notice service impacts in the following areas:
- Late reports of certain non-emergency criminal activity will be reported using the county's online reporting system or telephone reporting (703-228-4300) in lieu of an in-person officer response. All submissions to the online reporting system are reviewed by an officer. Once approved, an Arlington County Police Department official report number will be issued.
- An emphasis on investigative follow-up on crimes against people and serious property crimes.
- Reduced investigative follow-up on some property crimes, particularly when the incident lacks solvability factors. Examples of reduced investigative follow-up include reports of scams when no identifiable suspect exists, as well as late reports of hit-and-run crashes with no solvability factors.
Chief Penn said that despite these adjustments, the police department remains committed to:
- Maintaining operational readiness and preparedness to respond to any public safety incident that occurs in Arlington.
- Ensuring the orderly flow of traffic in the county while conducting transportation safety enforcement and education campaigns.
- Engaging and building partnerships with the community.
- Recruiting qualified candidates to join upcoming academy classes with the ultimate goal of returning the department to full staffing as soon as possible.
"It was hard for us to take," said Arlington Police Beneficiary Association President Richard Conigliaro of the cuts. "At Arlington, we're used to giving more of a Cadillac service to our citizens."
"We're looking at the possibility of losing 60 (officers) this year, which is more than we've ever lost in the 26 years I've been here," he said.
Conigliaro agrees recruitment and retention are the problem. He says his officers are hoping a coming new county budget will have money for raises to offset high inflation and bring their pay closer to that of other departments in the DMV.
But for some, he says, more money won't be enough.
"The last two, two and a half years have been really hard on the young officers," said Conigliaro. "Dealing with the protests, dealing with the outcry against police departments (and) being labeled as one of those officers even though Arlington County is one of the most respected departments in the country."
"Then having COVID hit and having to work through COVID," said Conigliaro
You can go here to find more information on the police department changes and view a video message from Chief Penn.