Alexandria is pursuing a Federal grant to help hire more police officers for patrol and investigations units left understaffed by higher-priority investigations.
At a meeting tomorrow, the City Council is scheduled to vote on a grant application to the FY 2023 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. The vote is largely ceremonial: retroactively approving a submission filed in August for up to $43,152 and allowing Alexandria’s City Manager to file all necessary documents.
Alexandria has been experiencing an uptick in violent crime in recent years with some areas, like the area near the Braddock Road Metro station, experiencing multiple shootings. The staff report said the hope is to use the funding to help hire police for other units, like patrol, for areas of the city where Part I crimes — murders, burglaries, etc. — are being committed.
According to the staff report:
Staff proposes to use the FY 2023 JAG funds to hire back officers to replace those temporarily assigned to investigate Part I crimes, including, but not limited to: robberies, larcenies, burglaries, weapon violations, and homicide response/investigations. The City most recently applied for and received JAG funding for this purpose in September 2021.
When needed, officers will be able to sign up to work on specific details targeting a specific area of the city where Part I crimes are occurring. Officers can also be selected from various units (i.e., patrol and investigations) that may work a task force or special detail and JAG funds are used to hire back officers with overtime pay to fill their normal assignments in patrol.