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Alexandria officials urge state help on mental-health beds and TDO burden on police
Summary
Police and city officials told the legislative subcommittee that shortages of behavioral-health beds and TDO transports are straining staffing and urged statutory or funding solutions in the 2026 legislative packet.
Law-enforcement and court officials pressed the legislative subcommittee to include targeted state measures addressing behavioral-health capacity and staffing. Chief McGuire told the group that temporary detention orders (TDOs) are consuming substantial police resources, estimating "up to 5 TDOs per shift" and noting that officers sometimes must transport people as far as Virginia Beach because of a regional bed shortage. He described prior overtime support (~$95,000) as a short-term patch and said the city needs more stable solutions to avoid chronic staffing impacts.
The Commonwealth's attorney and court clerks' representatives discussed workload and funding formulas: a workload study cited by a local court official showed state funding undercounts positions required in Northern Virginia compared with locality-funded positions, and the city representative urged that statutory or formula changes be considered alongside funding to ensure offices can hire and retain needed staff.
Committee members recommended grouping staffing-related asks under a "staffing" subheader and asked staff to be specific about whether the city seeks behavioral-health experts, additional compensation, or other targeted resources; they noted some proposals might be appropriate for administrative action by the incoming governor's transition team as well as legislative asks.
