When Tarrick McGuire talks about policing, he doesn’t start with strategy or statistics. He starts with people.
Early in his career with the Arlington Police Department, McGuire arrested a young man on narcotics charges. During the drive to jail, the two talked. The man had dropped out of school, lost contact with his mother, and had a child on the way. McGuire urged him to change course while he still could. Months later, the young man approached McGuire’s patrol car to say the conversation had altered the trajectory of his life — he had returned to school, reconciled with his family, and found steady work to support his newborn child.
That moment helped crystallize what would become a guiding theme in McGuire’s career: law enforcement is not only about responding to crime, but about investing in people. In the years that followed, he helped launch Mentoring Arlington Youth (M.A.Y.), a program pairing officers with young men in the community. The initiative grew out of a conviction that encouragement, accountability, and consistent presence can redirect lives long before they reach the criminal justice system.
McGuire began his law enforcement career in 2003 with the Arlington Police Department and rose steadily through the ranks, eventually serving in executive leadership roles before being appointed in 2024 as Chief of Police for the Alexandria Police Department in Virginia. Over more than two decades in policing, he has been recognized nationally for advancing evidence-based practices and strengthening relationships between police and the communities they serve. He has worked with the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the U.S. Department of Justice, and national research organizations focused on improving public safety through measurable, research-driven strategies. In 2022, he was inducted into the Evidence-Based Policing Hall of Fame for his contributions to the field.
Education has been a consistent thread in McGuire’s life alongside his professional work. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University, later completing a Master of Arts in Christian Leadership at Criswell College, and eventually a doctorate in public administration from California Baptist University. His time at Criswell overlapped with the formative years of the M.A.Y. program and his growing leadership responsibilities. He has credited Criswell professors with mentoring him during seasons that required both spiritual grounding and practical wisdom.
For McGuire, faith and vocation have never been separate tracks. He has described his work in policing as a form of ministry — an opportunity to bring stability, hope, and accountability into difficult situations. The classroom experience at Criswell reinforced that calling, helping him connect theological conviction with everyday leadership decisions.
Today, as chief in Alexandria, McGuire continues to emphasize mentorship, transparency, and community partnership. His career reflects the kind of public engagement Criswell seeks to encourage in its students: service that is serious about justice, attentive to people, and rooted in a worldview that sees every life as carrying dignity and purpose.
