Alexandria, VA - Annual Report 2003

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Public Safety Center Security Enhancements

The aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, required that the City evaluate current levels of facility security on a City-wide level. As high-profile federal prisoners involved in terrorist and spy activities were being held at the City's Public Safety Center, the facility required a comprehensive security evaluation and a quick implementation of the improvements determined to be needed.

A staff team, along with selected consultants, was formed in late 2001 to address the need for a security review and to prepare a plan of action. The team developed plans to enhance the security of the Public Safety Center, including security perimeter walls and fencing, electronic security gates, vehicle barriers, salley ports for transfer of prisoners, and a visitor screening center, a detached facility where visitors will be screened by deputies before entering the Center.

At the close of FY 2003, all security enhancements were complete except the construction of the visitor screening center, which is expected to be completed later this calendar year. The $4 million Public Safety Center project overcame many different and competing factors, including obtaining federal funding authorizations based on progress estimates, difficult soil and site conditions, concurrent construction of an adjacent apartment complex and the need to coordinate with the Virginia Department of Transportation in relation to its Woodrow Wilson Bridge project.

Undercover Targeting of Street-level Narcotics Dealers

The Commonwealth's Attorney's Office worked closely with the Alexandria Police Department to complete prosecution of a series of street-level drug dealers arrested as the result of an undercover operation in which an officer purchased narcotics in small quantities. In April 2003, the APD Vice/Narcotics Section began a six-week undercover operation targeting street- level drug distribution. A patrol officer, on special assignment, was able to make 36 undercover buys of crack cocaine from 29 suspects, 21 of whom were City residents. This operation was an attempt to remove or disable one of the components of drug trafficking in the City, the street-level dealer. To date, the operation has resulted in the conviction of 20 defendants.

Increased Street Crimes Enforcement

In FY 2003, the APD's Street Crimes Unit was recognized by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments for its efforts in suppressing nuisance and drug-related crimes. During CY 2002, the Street Crimes Unit made 622 criminal arrests, and seized $21,401 worth of narcotics and contraband and $47,901 in cash and property. This represented a 46% increase in drug-related arrests, a 77% increase in narcotics and contraband seizures, and over three and a half times the amount of seized cash and property in CY 2001.

Waterfront Fire Suppression System

Enhancements to the fire protection system along the waterfront were installed in FY 2003. These enhancements consisted largely of the construction of a dry pipe system at the City's marina, which is inter-connected to existing hydrants with wet valves located at strategic points along the waterfront. This allows firefighters to connect hoses at the valves in close proximity to a fire, without the risk of taking a truck onto the marina decking or losing valuable time by running long lengths of hoses from remote hydrants or pump vehicles.

Wireless 911

The Alexandria Police Department implemented Phase II Wireless 911, a cutting edge technology that uses latitude and longitude data from cell phone providers to geographically locate wireless 911 callers to within 100 to 300 meters of their location. This information allows responders to more accurately locate cell phone users dialing 911. Phase II Wireless 911 allows the Police Department's emergency communications equipment to accept coordinate data from the cell providers and automatically plot that information on a City map, locating wireless 911 callers on that map. Alexandria is the first public safety answering point within the metro-DC area to implement Phase II Wireless 911, prompting a visit and demonstration of the technology from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell in June 2003.

Tactical Computer System

The Alexandria Police Department's Tactical Computer System (Mobile Data Terminals) was recognized by the International Association of Chiefs of Police as one of seven finalists in the Webber Seavey Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement. The Police Department competed against a variety of initiatives from across the world for this award, which emphasizes the deployment throughout police agencies. The innovation and department-wide use of the Mobile Data Terminals was apparent during the sniper incident in the fall of 2002 in which the mobile computers played a pivotal role in information dissemination and operational readiness.

Smallpox Pre-Event Planning

To facilitate preparedness and response to a smallpox event in the community, the Health Department has been the lead agency in the City's Smallpox Pre-Event Vaccination Program. The Health Department's response team consists of a core of public health staff who have been vaccinated and are prepared to respond to an epidemiological investigation related to an incidence of reported or suspected disease, as well as being prepared to operate mass vaccination sites should the larger community need to be vaccinated. The Health Department has also prepared a team of hospital workers who are vaccinated and trained to provide direct medical care for the first smallpox patients requiring hospital admission, and to evaluate and manage patients who are suspected as having smallpox. The prevention effort has also included training and collaboration with the Police and Fire Departments, as well as the Sheriff's Office.

Community Awareness of Potential Threats

The Fire Department began providing awareness training to Alexandria civic groups and businesses on the threat of terrorism and how individuals, families and businesses can prepare at work and home to deal with any terrorist events. The training is designed to calm fears by providing a true understanding of terrorist threats and what the City has done to prepare for them. Also, two major drills on terrorism were conducted during the year. Operation Furies had more than 500 participants from City, state and federal agencies, and the City’s EPICS drill tested the City’s emergency preparedness by simulating a terrorist attack at the federal courthouse.

Community Support

The Alexandria Community Services Board’s Community Resilience Project, the City’s post-9/11 outreach effort, continued to make a team of multi-cultural outreach workers available to the Alexandria community. The project offered counseling, information and referral, and community presentations on emergency issues. From July 2002 to June 2003, the project provided 31,822 crisis counseling and information and referral contacts, facilitated 1,012 educational groups with 19,212 participants, provided 824 referrals to area agencies, and distributed 117,862 pieces of educational and marketing material. Funding for the Community Resilience Project, provided by FEMA, ends in January 2004.

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