Alexandria City Public Schools in Virginia released its latest report on in-school incidents and run-ins with the police department.
The latest data from the school system showed a decrease in the number of incidents, calls for police service and arrests on campuses.
Below is a rundown of the latest data from the district, reflecting the first half of the school year. The school system said the findings are not reflective of data collected by the district’s offices handling equity or accountability and research.
Decrease in Alexandria police calls
The school system reported decreases across its schools in calls for service from the Alexandria Police Department.
These calls for service are taken from a report form completed by school administrators when police assistance arrives at a school.
Since the first semester of 2021 (August-December 2021) the number of calls for service reduced by 10 or more each semester.
Of the 74 calls for police assistance, middle and high schools made up the majority of responses. Middle schools saw a higher number of police responses in November 2022, and the majority of calls for service across the semester came in October.
Most of the calls for service appear to have occurred across high school and middle school campuses, with five marked as occurring in elementary schools and four in schools stretching from kindergarten through eighth grade.
The department said that despite this drop, elementary and K-8 schools have seen an increase in calls for service from the city’s police department.
Decrease in incidents overall
According to the school system, a total of 188 incidents occurred across schools in the first semester — six incidents less than the year before. In total:
- 29 occurred at system elementary schools;
- 10 occurred at system K-8 schools;
- 71 occurred at system middle schools; and
- 78 occurred at system high schools.
Incidents in county schools varied from reported thefts and sexual misconduct to assaults and calls for students in crisis.
The most common reported incidents included:
- Fights/assaults (44)
- Injuries/medical assistance (41)
- Founded and unfounded weapons reports (15)
- Controlled substances (14)
Officials also said that reported confiscated weapons included knives, brass knuckles, stun guns/tasers and BB guns/pepper spray.
Decrease in campus arrests
Arrests on campuses across the system increased from month to month, though they fell below previous semester rates in both middle and high schools.
According to the department, student arrests are only made when laws are violated on or off of school grounds. In total, there were 17 arrests across the system.
- Five involved weapons
- Four involved controlled substances
- Three involved assaults
- Three involved disorderly conduct
Two reported arrest involved a threat or served warrant.
Alexandria schools said that students in elementary and K-8 schools did not see any arrests in the prior year. Six arrests occurred at the city middle school level and 11 happened at the high school level.
Police presence in schools is something that school systems in Virginia, including Alexandria, have been grappling with in recent months.
