Alexandria Police Chief Tarrick McGuire is focusing on six “micro areas” throughout the city as part of a targeted approach to reducing crime.
McGuire, who just finished his first 100 days in office, spoke about his plans with ALXnow in an exclusive interview after his presentation to the City Council on Tuesday (April 8). The specific locations have not been revealed, except he said that they are well-known crime hotspots.
“When I say micro areas, we have identified and aligned those particular areas where we are seeing overlay of either violent crime or overlay of larceny,” McGuire said. “We’re concentrating number one on focused deterrence, which is visibility in that area.”
He also said that his strategy involves precision policing rather than broad sweeps of neighborhoods, targeting repeat offenders who quickly travel in and out of Alexandria to commit crimes.
“We have multiple people that are coming in and out of our city every single day and they are repetitively committing the same criminal offenses,” he said. “There are access points to our cities as it relates to the Metro. They’re going to Target, going into Potomac County, and they’re hopping on back and forth.”
McGuire told City Council that crime is down in the city so far this year, although the most current data available on the city’s crime dashboard only goes up to Feb. 28.
Like his last two predecessors, Chief Don Hayes and Chief Michael Brown, McGuire said he wants to increase officer visibility with more foot and bicycle patrols.
“The weather is changing,” McGuire said. “We want to see cops on King Street, we want to see them in neighborhoods. There are places that cars cannot go. My expectation is that not only will we see people on foot patrols, but we also see people on bicycles.”
The chief’s 100-day action plan, released shortly after the interview, outlines additional initiatives, including the implementation of a crime review process, the evaluation of patrol shift schedules to support work-life balance, and the launch of a mentoring program at George Washington Middle School.
McGuire is also evaluating the department’s organizational structure, though he hasn’t finalized any reorganization plans yet.
“I think it would be foolish to say that any leader will come into the organization and not change some things,” he said. “I do project that we will make some organizational changes to succeed and have operational efficiency.”
APD is also working on a five-year public safety plan in collaboration with George Mason University. McGuire said that the plan is expected to be finalized by late June and will incorporate research-based approaches to address crime trends.
“Sustainable public safety plans normally involve partnership through research because you have to look at longitudinal data, and you have to identify what those trends are,” McGuire said.
McGuire joined APD after a 21-year career with the Arlington Police Department in Texas, the same previous jurisdiction as Alexandria City Manager Jim Parajon.
