Chief Penn Shares Video Message on Service Changes

Published on March 29, 2022

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Arlington County Police Department (ACPD), like most law enforcement agencies, has experienced a significant reduction in our workforce due to attrition, retirements and officers seeking other opportunities. While our department’s commitment to providing professional law enforcement services and to working collaboratively with our community to support public safety remains unwavering, this reduction in officers will change the way we deliver services to the community.

It is imperative we make service adjustments to prioritize our workload in alignment with the department’s key initiatives of Crime Prevention and Control, Community Engagement, Transportation Safety and Employee Wellness and Safety. Our goal is to facilitate a sustainable work-life balance for officers while focusing our investigative and response efforts around more serious criminal incidents and concerns across the community. In order to achieve this, we have reallocated some assignments to prioritize response to core services which has included the need to leave some specialty positions unfilled.

“Arlington remains a safe place to live, work and visit and the incredibly dedicated and professional men and women of the Arlington County Police Department work each and every day to make a positive difference in the lives of those we serve,” said Chief Andy Penn. “I am confident that despite our service adjustments, we will continue to work in partnership with the community and remain proactive in ensuring public safety.”

WATCH: Chief Penn Shares Message on Service Changes

Key Service Impacts

Our top priority remains the safety of the Arlington community. Officers will continue responding to in-progress crimes and emergency calls for service where there is a threat to life, health or property. It is anticipated the community will notice service impacts in the following areas:

• Late reports of applicable non-emergency criminal activity will be reported using the online reporting system or telephone reporting (703-228-4300) in lieu of an in-person officer response. This is a change first initiated during the pandemic and will continue to ensure the best use of available resources. All submissions to the online reporting system are reviewed by an officer and once approved, an Arlington County Police Department official report number will be issued.
• Prioritized investigative follow-up on crimes against people and serious property crimes.
• Reduced investigative follow-up on some property crimes, particularly when the incident lacks solvability factors. Examples of reduced investigative follow-up include:
• • Reports of scams when no identifiable suspect exists. ACPD will continue to conduct educational campaigns around common scams and share financial crime prevention information.
  • Late reports of hit and run crashes with no solvability factors.

Despite these adjustments, we remain committed to:

• Maintaining operational readiness and preparedness to respond to any public safety incident that occurs in Arlington
• Ensuring the orderly flow of traffic in the County while conducting transportation safety enforcement and education campaigns
• Engaging and building partnerships with those we serve
• Proactively recruiting qualified candidates to join upcoming academy classes with the ultimate goal of returning the department to full staffing as soon as possible.

For additional information and resources on the police department’s service changes and reallocation of resources, please visit our website.

Engage with ACPD

ACPD remains committed to effectively communicating to ensure the public’s trust. Members of our Command Staff and Engagement Division are available should you have additional questions or if you would like to host a small group discussion. The public is also encouraged to visit our engage page for a variety of resources available to stay informed about police activity, engagement events, road closures and safety campaigns.