safety | ALXnow

Amid transparency concerns, School Board forms school law enforcement partnership advisory group

Published April 22, 2022 at 2:45PM | Updated April 22, 2022 at 3:55PM

Alexandria Police at Alexandria City High School’s Minnie Howard Campus. (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria School Board gave its blessing to Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. on Thursday night (April 21) to form an advisory group to make recommendations on the controversial school resource officer program within Alexandria City Public Schools.

The 16-person school law enforcement partnership (SLEP) advisory group will be made up of students, ACPS administrators, Alexandria Police and members of the community. The group will evaluate the partnership between ACPS and police for the school resource officer program, and also on school safety initiatives, and deliver a report in December.

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Metro derailment in Alexandria among safety lapses outlined in scathing audit of transit system

By James Cullum

Published April 7, 2022 at 2:15PM

A Metro train headed toward the Van Dorn Metro station (staff photo by James Cullum)

A six-car Metrorail train hit a contractor work unit and derailed in the Alexandria Rail Yard in 2020 because an interlocking train operator was watching a movie trailer on an electronic device.

There were no injuries, but the February 10, 2020, incident is included in a scathing audit of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority by the Washington Metropolitan Safety Commission, which found “a culture that accepts noncompliance with written operational rules, instructions, and manuals.”

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Alexandria Police to start wearing body worn cameras this summer, will take a year until full deployment

By James Cullum

Published April 1, 2022 at 2:15PM

Alexandria Police will be outfitted with body worn cameras starting this summer, but it won’t be until next year that all officers will be outfitted with the devices.

The $2.2 million program City Manager Jim Parajon presented to Council on Wednesday (March 30) is significantly scaled back cost-wise when compared to a $13 million proposal presented to City Council last year by then-Police Chief Michael Brown.

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Alexandria City Manager wants authority to reduce speed limit in business and residential districts

By James Cullum

Published March 2, 2022 at 3:45PM | Updated March 3, 2022 at 3:08PM

(Updated at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 3) Alexandria City Manager Jim Parajon wants to be able to reduce speed limits from 25 miles per hour to 15 mph in business and residential districts.

The proposal is part of the city’s efforts to pilot slow zones in residence districts, and goes before City Council on Tuesday, March 8. The City Manager already has the authority to reduce the speed limit, just not to 15 mph.

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SoberRide returns this weekend to offer safe Halloween travel

By Vernon Miles

Published October 29, 2021 at 10:50AM

SoberRide flyer, courtesy Washington Regional Alcohol Program

The Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) is bringing back its SoberRide program this weekend to offer a safe alternative to drinking and driving.

The Halloween SoberRide will be operational from 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 30, to 4 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 31. During this time, any area resident 21 or older can use the SoberRide code in the “promo” section of the app and get a no-cost trip of up to $15 to get home. The code will be posted at 7 p.m. on the SoberRide website.

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Metal detectors not under consideration within Alexandria City Public Schools

By James Cullum

Published October 26, 2021 at 3:30PM | Updated October 29, 2021 at 9:34PM

The Alexandria City High School marquee (staff photo by James Cullum)

Metal detectors are not being considered at Alexandria City Public Schools.

After a rocky start to the school year with multiple students caught bringing weapons to Alexandria City High School, the issue has been publicly raised more than a few times in recent weeks.

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ALXnow’s top stories this week in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published July 30, 2021 at 3:30PM | Updated July 30, 2021 at 3:51PM

Alexandria Police cruiser (staff photo by James Cullum)

What an absorbing week in Alexandria.

Just as the ball gets rolling with reopening and loosened restrictions, the pandemic rears its ugly head. With coronavirus transmission levels climbing, Alexandria is once again recommending that residents go back to wearing face masks indoors.

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Without School Resource Officers, Superintendent wants more private security inside and police patrolling outside

By James Cullum

Published July 28, 2021 at 4:45PM

The Alexandria City High School logo at the Earl Lloyd Court (staff photo by James Cullum)

Without school resource officers and the next school year starting in less than a month, Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Gregory Hutchings, Jr. has a plan to beef up security.

Hutchings and staff, on July 16, sent the School Board a three-page proposal acknowledging serious security implications, including “increased vulnerability at school sites, decreased deterrence of situations such as active threats to students, staff and visitors.”

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Mayor pushes for state-level building safety reform after Florida disaster

By Vernon Miles

Published July 12, 2021 at 9:45AM

Southern Towers (staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Last week Mayor Justin Wilson shared information on building inspection requirements following the disaster in Florida, but now the city is also pushing for state-level reform on building inspections.

The city’s scope of implementing building code inspection requirements is bound by the Dillon Rule, which states that localities can only exercise powers expressly granted by the state. On July 8, Wilson sent a letter to Governor Ralph Northam urging him to start the legislative process toward overhauling the state’s barebones inspection requirements.

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Alexandria looks closer at Virginia building safety regulations after Florida condo collapse

By James Cullum

Published July 6, 2021 at 3:30PM

The Sherwood apartment building at Southern Towers in Alexandria's West End. (staff photo by James Cullum)

In the wake of the condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson says that Virginia needs to update its building safety regulations.

While calling the June 24 collapse of the 40-year-old building a rarity, Wilson tweeted that it has raised safety concerns since Alexandria has “most of the older high-rise residential buildings in Virginia.”

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Curfew Not Likely for Alexandria on Inauguration Day, No Known Threats Detected

By James Cullum

Published January 15, 2021 at 1:15PM

Alexandria Police are reporting no known threats to the city in the run up to the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on Wednesday, Jan. 20, and the city is not planning to impose 6 p.m. curfew that night.

Mayor Justin Wilson told ALXnow that he sees no reason that a curfew will be necessary, as the Alexandria Police Department has been working closely with federal and regional law enforcement partners.