Pentagon, The (Boundary Increase) · Photo: Touch Of Light · CC BY-SA 4.0Who polices Arlington, and what they report
Arlington has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Arlington County. The Arlington County Police Department reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Arlington alone, and no Safety Grade.
What stands out about safety in Arlington
Policed by the county
Arlington is a census-designated place, with no town government. Crimes there are reported to the FBI inside the Arlington County Police Department’s totals for the county. County police ↓
Counts, not rates
The FBI doesn’t publish how many people the Arlington County Police Department covers, so its totals can’t be turned into a per-resident rate or a grade for Arlington. County police ↓
The nearest graded towns
The closest Virginia towns with their own police figures are Falls Church (B−, 4 mi), Alexandria (C, 4 mi), Vienna (B+, 9 mi). Nearby towns can differ a lot from Arlington. Nearest ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What the Arlington County Police Department reports
Crimes reported to the FBI for the whole area the department covers, by year.
Reports to the FBI for the parts of Arlington County without police of their own, which include Arlington.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
Also reports crimes in Arlington County to the FBI.
Property crimes
Violent crimes
2025 offenses reported by the Arlington County Police Department
Counts, not rates: the FBI doesn’t publish how many people each agency covers. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Tables 10–11.
The nearest Virginia towns with a Safety Grade
Each town’s own police figures, per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
| Town | Grade | Distance | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falls Church | B− | 4 mi | 1.0 | 15.9 |
| Alexandria | C | 4 mi | 1.9 | 22.3 |
| Vienna | B+ | 9 mi | 0.9 | 8.6 |
| Fairfax | C− | 11 mi | 1.1 | 29.8 |
| Herndon | C+ | 17 mi | 2.4 | 15.1 |
| Manassas Park | B+ | 20 mi | 1.2 | 7.6 |
Straight-line distance from the center of Arlington. Nearby towns can differ a lot from Arlington.
30 people died in crashes on Arlington’s roads in 2019–2023
Arlington had 28 fatal crashes in five years, in which 30 people died; 10 were pedestrians. 5 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 2.5 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, below the median for Virginia towns of 100,000+ people (7.8, 8 towns).
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Arlington and its neighbors
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandria | C | 1.9 | 22.3 |
| Bailey's Crossroads | — | — | — |
| McLean | — | — | — |
| Falls Church | B− | 1.0 | 15.9 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Bailey's Crossroads and McLean are unincorporated communities (census-designated places) with no police department of their own.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- A county agency covers a wide area. Its totals mix many communities, so they say little about any one of them.
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Arlington
Is Arlington, VA safe?
There is no Safety Grade for Arlington. Arlington has no police department of its own: it’s an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) in Arlington County. The Arlington County Police Department reports to the FBI for the parts of the county without police of their own, so there are no figures for Arlington alone, and no Safety Grade. The nearest Virginia towns with a grade are Falls Church (B−, 4 mi), Alexandria (C, 4 mi), Vienna (B+, 9 mi).
Who polices Arlington?
The Arlington County Police Department. Arlington is an unincorporated community, and the department reports to the FBI for the parts of Arlington County without police of their own.
Heads-up board
Neighbors looking out for each other in Arlington.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.