Arlington County Police Blotter

Arlington County police blotter and daily crime reports are published online by the Arlington County Police Department. The department posts daily crime reports on weekdays and launched the Crime Data Hub, which gives the public an interactive tool to search incidents by neighborhood, offense type, and time period. This page explains how to use those tools and how to request full incident reports through FOIA if you need more detail than the daily reports provide.

Arlington County Police Department

Arlington County has a police department rather than a Sheriff's Office. The Arlington County Police Department is based at 1425 N Courthouse Rd in Arlington, Virginia. The non-emergency line is (703) 558-2222. Full department information is available at police.arlingtonva.us. For data questions or records inquiries, you can also email the department at ACPDDataHub@arlingtonva.us.

Arlington County is a densely populated urban county in Northern Virginia, directly across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. It has no incorporated cities. The county operates under a unified government, and the police department serves the entire county. Given its urban character, Arlington sees more incidents per square mile than most Virginia counties, and the department has invested in transparency tools to give residents real-time access to crime data and blotter information.

The department publishes daily crime reports, operates an open data portal with crime statistics, and processes formal FOIA requests for full incident reports. These three tools together give residents and researchers multiple ways to access Arlington County police blotter information. The daily reports are the fastest option. The open data portal gives you the most flexibility. FOIA requests give you the most detail.

Arlington County Police Blotter Online

The Arlington County Police Department website provides daily crime report archives, FOIA request information, and links to the open data portal. Visit the site at police.arlingtonva.us for the most current department information and to access archived blotter reports.

The department website includes daily blotter archives, online reporting tools for minor crimes, and directions for submitting formal FOIA requests for full incident reports. It is the starting point for any Arlington County police records search.

Arlington County Crime Data Hub

The Arlington County Crime Data Hub is an interactive tool for searching crime incidents. It uses the NIBRS system and gets updated every Wednesday. You can search incidents by neighborhood, offense type, time frame, and police beat. The tool shows incidents at the block level, not at specific addresses. This protects privacy while still giving geographic context. Access it through the Arlington County open data portal.

Sample blotter entries from the hub show the type of data available. Typical entries include a fraud report at the 3100 block of Wilson Blvd, an assault at the 2000 block of S Eads St, and a larceny from auto at the 400 block of 11th St S. Each entry includes a case number, offense type, date, and block-level address. You can sort and filter the full dataset to find patterns or look for specific incidents in your area. The bulk download option lets you export data as a spreadsheet for further analysis.

The open data portal also allows you to download bulk crime data as a spreadsheet or through an API. This is useful for anyone doing detailed research on crime patterns in specific Arlington neighborhoods or police beats over time.

Daily Arlington County Police Blotter Reports

The Arlington County Police publish daily crime reports on weekdays. Each report covers significant criminal incidents from the previous day. Monday reports cover Friday through Sunday activity. Reports are organized by police district. Addresses appear at the block level to protect privacy while still giving geographic context for each incident.

The daily reports include offense type, case number, date, and general location. They do not include full incident report narratives or the names of involved parties. For those details, you need to submit a formal FOIA request. Daily reports are a quick way to track recent activity in your area without going through the full records request process. They are available on the police department website and are archived for previous months.

Online Crime Reporting in Arlington County

Arlington County Police offer online reporting for several low-priority incident types. You can file a report online for theft from a vehicle, identity theft, vandalism, lost property, and harassing calls. This saves a trip to the station for incidents where no suspect is immediately identified and no one is in danger. Reports filed online still generate an official case number you can use for insurance purposes or future follow-up.

For accident reports, Arlington County uses the LexisNexis crash report system. You can order a copy online for a $9 fee. Mail-in requests cost $10. Only involved parties can request copies under Virginia Code section 46.2-379. The Virginia DMV also provides accident reports for $8 per copy.

For all other incident reports and full blotter records, submit a FOIA request under Virginia Code sections 2.2-3700 through 2.2-3714. You do not need to state your reason. The department has 5 business days to respond after receipt of your request, with up to 12 business days allowed for more complex requests.

Arlington County Court Records

Criminal cases filed in Arlington County courts are searchable online. The Virginia General District Court search covers misdemeanor and traffic cases. Felony matters go through the Circuit Court, accessible via the Circuit Court case information system. Criminal cases use the CR prefix. You can search by name or case number through either system.

The Virginia State Police maintains statewide crime statistics that include Arlington County. As an urban Northern Virginia jurisdiction, Arlington contributes significantly to the region's crime totals in VSP data. The Virginia Sex Offender Registry is searchable by Arlington ZIP codes and shows registered offenders living in the county.

Note: The VSP SP-167 form is used for formal statewide criminal history checks. This is separate from the Arlington County Police blotter and court search tools but gives you a full picture of someone's criminal record across all Virginia jurisdictions.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Arlington and have their own police blotter and records systems. The City of Alexandria, which borders Arlington to the south, has its own police department.