Staffing Challenges Prompt Alexandria Police To Adjust Services

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Alexandria Police are adjusting responses to service calls due to staffing challenges.

The police department is working with a reduced number of officers due to resignations and retirements, according to a news release. A police spokesperson told WTOP there are 293 sworn officers, down from 328 in 2018.

The service adjustments will include officers not responding to certain calls that fall under another agency's role unless the agency requests support. Officers will also not respond to scenes that happened earlier with no threat to the public, identifiable suspects or investigative leads. However, the police department will provide more support for online and phone reporting in partnership with the Department of Emergency Communications.

"We are making service adjustments to prioritize our workload to better serve the Alexandria community," said Police Chief Don Hayes in a video message. "Our goals include ensuring a sustainable work-life balance for officers while focusing our investigative and response efforts on more serious criminal incidents and concerns across the community."

Hayes said the police department remains committed to serving neighborhoods to prevent and reduce crime and maintaining readiness to respond to incidents. The police department will continue to evaluate the service adjustments and responses to calls, according to Hayes.

The police department is planning an outreach campaign to inform the community about the service adjustments.

Alexandria's police officers' union has raised concerns about pay competitiveness contributing to staffing challenges at the police department. The latest city budget for fiscal year 2023 included pay increases and funding to increase police patrol staffing.