Report: Alexandria City Public Schools sees jump in student arrests and violent incidents

Alexandria City Public Schools saw a 26% increase in student arrests last school year, and a disproportionate number of arrested students are Black males.

There were 58 ACPS students arrested last school year, according to a school safety report to be presented to the School Board on Thursday. There were also 32 weapons-related incidents, 100 students injured, 112 fights/assaults and five reports of sexual misconduct.

The news follows an ACPS report revealing that most of Alexandria’s middle and high school students feel unsafe.

There were 451 incidents requiring a police response within Alexandria City Public Schools in the 2022-2023 school year — 188 incidents in the first two quarters of the year and 263 incidents in the final two quarters. That’s a 17% increase over the 385 incidents in the 2021-2022 school year.

While 25% of ACPS students are Black, most of those arrested are Black males.

Middle School Arrests (27)

• Black male — 14
• Hispanic male — 4
• Black female — 4
• Hispanic female — 3
• White male — 2

High School Arrests (31)

• Black male — 18
• Hispanic male — 6
• Black female — 4
• White male — 3
• Hispanic female — 2

Weapons seized include a handgun, two BB guns, stun guns, tasers, knives, pepper spray and a box cutter.

ACPS made a number of safety improvements in the 2022-2023 school year, like new ID requirements for students, designating entrances and exits at schools, installing metal detectors, and renewing its partnership with the police department to provide school resource officers.

Incidents in the 2022-2023 school year include:

• 112 fights
• 116 incidents characterized as “other” (parking lot accidents, trespassing, mental health episodes, property lost/damaged)
• 100 injuries requiring medical assistance
• 32 confiscated weapons
• 21 reports of controlled substances recovered
• 19 threats (verbal/cyber/social media)
• 16 missing student reports
• Seven reports of suspicious activity
• Five alarms pulled
• Five reports of sexual misconduct
• Three thefts
• One report of possessing prohibited materials

There were 175 incidents reported at the Alexandria City High School campuses, 183 incidents at the city’s two middle schools, 43 incidents at K-8 schools and 50 incidents at elementary schools.