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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Police Chief Tarrick McGuire brings the department's G.R.E.A.T. public safety framework to Del Ray on Tuesday evening, in a community conversation hosted by the Del Ray Business Association and the Del Ray Citizens Association.
The event runs from 5 to 7 p.m. at Piece Out Del Ray, 2419 Mt. Vernon Ave. Organizers ask attendees to RSVP through Eventbrite.
It is one of several neighborhood meetings the department signaled this summer, alongside sessions planned in Old Town, Arlandria and the West End. Unlike the June 18 Public Safety Summit and the July 21 forum — both held at Virginia Theological Seminary for invited participants — Tuesday's gathering is open to anyone who signs up.
"Whether you're a resident, business owner, parent, student, educator, faith leader, or community partner, your voice is an important part of this conversation," the organizers wrote.
The framework's five pillars — Geographical Policing and Accountability, Relationships, Evidence-Based Strategies and Enforcement, Assessment, and Technology — organize the department's priorities around data-driven deployment, community trust, crime reduction, transparency and modern tools. McGuire presented it to City Council on June 9.
What Del Ray residents raise Tuesday will feed a report the department expects to release in September, summarizing what it heard across the summer and outlining how it intends to implement the framework.
Several themes from July's forum seem likely to resurface on Mt. Vernon Avenue. Traffic and pedestrian safety drew significant concern there, particularly scooters and cyclists running red lights. Assistant Chief Jason North told that room the department focuses enforcement on crash data and the most severe incidents: "I'm not proud to say it, but this police department can't be everywhere at once."
Residents also pushed on technology and privacy. McGuire has argued APD needs to keep pace with neighboring jurisdictions, and confirmed in July that body cameras and dash cams — long absent from the department — are now being installed after more than a year in procurement. Real-time crime centers and drones remain under evaluation and would require council approval and budget authorization.
Youth programming came up repeatedly in July, with Assistant Chief Tina Laguna saying the department plans to reinstitute a youth citizen police academy within the next month or two.
The framework arrives on the back of steep crime declines. The department's inaugural annual report recorded a 29% drop in overall crime during McGuire's first full calendar year, and a Brookings analysis cited in March put Alexandria's per capita crime reduction at 57% since 2024.
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