Unity Council Report - August 2023 | Page 14

Executive Summary

While much of the data related to policing and criminal justice demonstrates that Arlington continues to be one of the nation’ s safer cities, we must remain committed to ensuring that we are fostering strong police and community relationships – grounded upon the tenants of accountability and transparency.
Many of the original Unity Council recommendations focused on initiatives that would build trust between APD and Arlington’ s minority communities. The Department has engaged in several initiatives focused on this goal. When evaluating Use of Force( UOF) data from 2019 to 2022, the below findings were noted:
• The total number of UOF incidents decreased by 11.2 %( 1,131 to 1,004)
• The total number of UOF occurrences increased by 20 %( 3,044 to 3,655)
• The number of subjects against whom force was used decreased by 13.9 %( 1,636 to 1,408)
• A 26.2 % decrease from 2019 in Calls for Service, including dispatched, Self-Initiated activity and traffic stops
The increase in UOF occurrences can be attributed to increased response to violent offenses. In evaluating the top 10 dispatched calls for service in 2022 where force was applied, Domestic Assaults and Aggravated Assaults
comprise 44 % of the top 10 Calls for Service. This is significant in that our officers are responding to calls which are violent in nature. APD’ s increased focus on de-escalation tactics involving time, distance and additional officers can be attributed to the increase in the number of occurrences.
Additionally, the nature of offenses being dispatched often requires a multiple officer response, both leading to an increase in occurrences when voluntary compliance is not obtained and force application is warranted. While that data shows us areas where continued effort is required, it also delineates where significant progress is being made.
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