New Alexandria Police Chief Assumes Duties, Outlines 100-Day Plan

ALEXANDRIA, VA — New Alexandria Police Chief Tarrick McGuire was officially sworn in Tuesday and gave residents an idea of his priorities for the first 100 days.

McGuire was appointed in October by City Manager James Parajon to lead the Alexandria Police Department starting on Nov. 25. McGuire succeeds former Police Chief Don Hayes stepped down in early 2024 after taking a federal level job. Raul Pedroso has been serving as interim police chief as the city searched for a permanent replacement.

McGuire was most recently assistant police chief for the Arlington, Texas Police Department and has held other patrol, investigations, and community relations roles. In Alexandria, McGuire will oversee a police department of 322 sworn and 114 professional employees in a city of more than 155,000 people.

"Chief McGuire is a proven leader with more than two decades of experience who is realistic about today and optimistic about tomorrow," said Parajon via a news release. "While we know Chief McGuire is nationally recognized for his commitment to reducing crime through community relations, what I know is that he will take those skills and apply them in Alexandria, today, right now – and set us up for a better tomorrow."

According to city government, McGuire helped create the Mentoring Arlington Youth, which helped lower crime rates and garnered national recognition from the Department of Justice's COPS Office as a model for 21st Century Policing. As assistant chief in Arlington, Texas, he also helped in crime reduction strategies to bring down violent crime and directed the Safe Roads Initiative to work on reducing crashes and fatalities on local roads.

McGuire was appointed as an International Association of Chiefs of Police Law Enforcement Fellow in 2016, collaborating with police departments, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Obama Administration to implement 21st Century Task Force on Policing recommendations. He was appointed in 2020 to the Council on Police Reform and Race by the National Policing Institute (formerly the National Police Foundation) and served as chairperson of the International Association of Chiefs of Police Juvenile Justice and Child Protection Committee. McGuire is part of the Evidence-Based Policing Hall of Fame.

"I am honored and grateful to accept the position of Police Chief of the Alexandria Police Department," McGuire said. "I believe in a community-oriented approach to policing, building public trust through transparency, and emphasizing communication and collaboration. I look forward to working alongside our dedicated officers, community leaders, and residents to create a safer Alexandria for everyone."

In Alexandria, McGuire has outlined a 100-day action plan with four main pillars: relationships, review, respond and report.

Goals in the relationships category include organizing listening sessions with sworn staff, professional staff, and community stakeholders to understand ongoing challenges and urgent concerns, communicating with key public safety leaders in the Northern Virginia region to collaborate and identify key issues, and creating a strategic communication plan to improve the release of information internally and externally.

In the review category, goals are evaluating key leadership positions and vacancies and analyze department units to improve efficiency; reviewing fiscal accountability, crime review processes, and other key areas like employee discipline, promotions, and hiring; and evaluating mental health, stress management, and support systems to look for areas of improvement and create targeted programs to boost officer well-being and job satisfaction.

In the respond category, McGuire aims to assign key leadership roles and responsibilities to staff, create an Employee and Community Relations Board to facilitate dialogue and promote unity and trust, and develop a change management roadmap to better align the agency and establish key priorities.

In the report category, McGuire intends to communicate key outcomes to the police agency, city officials, and community stakeholders as well as publish the 100-day plan on the police department's website and social media.