Arlington Police Increase Visibility to Drop Injury, Fatality Crashes

Published on December 05, 2025

By Susan Schrock, Office of Communication

143 mph. The triple-digit number flashed on the screen of the Arlington police officer’s LIDAR gun as a Mustang GT, racing another muscle car along State Highway 360, screamed past his patrol car on Dec. 2.

The highway enforcement officer pulled over and arrested the man— who was going more than twice the highway’s posted speed limit— for reckless driving. The Arlington Police Department highlighted the arrest and the dangerous speeds on its social media accounts as part of a year-round public education campaign on driver and pedestrian safety. The public messaging and the police department’s increased focus on traffic enforcement and officer visibility on highways and city streets is part of the Safe Streets Arlington Plan, adopted by the City Council in 2024, to reduce serious injury and fatality crashes down to zero by 2050.

These efforts are making a difference, police say.

As of Dec. 5, 2025, Arlington had recorded 30 traffic fatalities for the year. This is a marked decrease from 37 traffic deaths in 2024 and significantly lower than the 43 traffic fatalities recorded in 2023.

"The decline in traffic deaths is encouraging, but our work is far from over. The Arlington Police Department is fully committed to the goals of the Safe Streets Arlington Plan," Chief of Police Al Jones said. "Our increased enforcement and visibility focus on correcting dangerous driving behaviors, especially speeding, which is consistently a factor in fatal crashes. We don’t make traffic stops because we enjoy making them. We make them because they are one of the most effective tools we have to prevent crashes and save lives on our roadways.”

Increased Visibility

The police department uses crash data as part of its strategy to identify where to prioritize traffic enforcement operations and address dangerous driving behaviors, such as unsafe lane changes, red light running and speeding. So far this year, 12 of the 30 traffic deaths were on Interstate 30, Interstate 20, SH 360 or US 287.

Commuters may have noticed an increase in Arlington police visibility not just along these highways but also in school zones, neighborhood streets and the major thoroughfares that cut through the 99-square-mile city.

From Jan. through Nov. 30, 2025, Arlington officers had conducted 25% more traffic stops, 98,034 versus 76,460, compared to the same time frame in 2024. Nearly 42% of those traffic stops resulted in citations. The department has conducted 41,043 traffic stops that resulted in citations from Jan. 1 through Nov. 30, 2025, compared to the 30,361 traffic stops with citations made during the same time frame in 2024.

Combined, the Police Department’s patrol and traffic enforcement units are on pace to have conducted 100,000 traffic stops by the end of 2025, returning to pre-pandemic traffic enforcement levels for the first time since 2019.

Sending a Message

As part of its traffic safety awareness campaign, the Police Department regularly posts on its social media accounts where officers will be conducting proactive enforcement.

While sharing a photo of the officer’s LIDAR gun that had recorded the Mustang driving 143 mph on SH 360, the Police Department advertised additional locations where officers were on the lookout for dangerous drivers.

“We post these updates to educate, raise awareness, and help prevent the tragedies caused by speeding, reckless driving, DWIs, and other fatal crash factors.

And for anyone thinking, “Why tell people where you’ll be? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose?” — not really.

The people making risky decisions aren’t checking Facebook or Instagram before they do it.

But responsible drivers and our community do see these posts… and sometimes a reminder is all it takes to keep someone from speeding, racing, or getting behind the wheel impaired.

So, if this message helps even one person think twice — mission accomplished.”