NORFOLK, Va. — Violent crimes are on the rise in the United States, but it's a different story for the state of Virginia.
The FBI released its violent crime statistics from 2020, finding that violent crimes increased by 5.6% compared to the previous year. In total, the FBI estimates 1,277,696 violent crimes were reported to the agency.
In the commonwealth of Virginia, the conversation holds a different narrative. The state reported 15,684 violent crimes in 2020, which is a drop compared to 16,140 reported in 2019.
Data from each reporting department is available through the FBI's report, but the agency discourages using the data to rank and compare violent crimes among different cities, citing that it could cause "misleading interpretations."
However, several agencies in Hampton Roads did see numerical drops in the number of violent crimes reported, like the Chesapeake Police Department-- with 70 fewer violent crimes reported in 2020 than 2019.
Deputy Chief Mark Solesky, with the Chesapeake Police Department, says he'd like to think it's hopefully a product of shifting toward "community policing" that came on in the 1990s.
"Pre-community policing was the thought that we could go in alone, as a profession. That we can solve the problems on our own, but we soon realized we need the help of the community," Solesky said, with more than 30 years in law enforcement.
"You thought you'd look at the numbers and see you have so many robberies, and assaults. We [used to] think that's what the community is concerned about. But when you talk to the community, drill a little deeper, you find out there were other issues more important."
The FBI also found fewer property crimes reported in the commonwealth, too. The full findings are available through the Federal Bureau of Investigation's website.