PORTSMOUTH, Va. — In a crime prevention briefing given to Portsmouth City Council Tuesday, city leaders got a clearer picture of the impacts of violence and crime affecting the tidewater city.
“Every time you put on the TV something happens, burglary, violent crime,"
Mimi Terry said, the city's Chief Financial Officer.
Tuesday night, Terry presented the latest of the City Manager's City-Wide Comprehensive Crime Strategy before City Council.
According to Portsmouth crime data (based on the latest information gathered from 2019) there were a total of 6,423 annual crimes in the city. Violent crimes made up 905 of them, and the remaining were property crimes.
Those numbers work out to a total crime rate of 68.04 per 1,000 residents, and a crime rate of 9.59 per 1,000 residents for violent crimes.
The city's crime index--based on a scale from 1 to 100-- came in at 1, with 100 being the safest numerical value. It puts the city's crime index safer than only 1% of U.S. cities.
According to Terry, the chances of becoming a victim to violent crime in Portsmouth are more than four times higher than that of the state of Virginia.
"The best way to think about it: for 1,000 [people] you’re one in a 104 chance of something happening to you," Terry said.
The Crime Strategy is a city initiative on crime reduction, with City Manager Angel Jones playing a key role in the collaborative effort.
At its heart, the strategy aims "to address the root cause of crime by using a systemic and holistic approach in changing cultural norms and policies in a collaborative and comprehensive manner."
The city said they are developing the city's crime profile, defining their goals, identifying partnerships, and implementing initiatives in an effort to reduce crime.
So far, Portsmouth said they have extended youth programs at schools and are working with Civic Leagues to get short term and long term suggestions for reducing crime.
The council has also initiated requests to Dominion Power to get more lighting in high crime areas.
There's also now an emphasized focus on mental health with new training classes and initiatives in place to address individuals' needs.
“A crime strategy: it’s not just about putting more police officers on the street," Terry said.
The police department is also hiring a new police chief, and evaluating all positions that impact crime in the city.
Not only are there plans and initiatives in the works, but the council discussed ideas and potential plans as well during their meeting.
From homelessness initiatives to improvements on operations procedures, the city has a long list of paths they could take to curb crime.
The city listed poverty, low self-esteem, unemployment, alcohol and drug abuse as some of the connections to city crime. According to the briefing, nearly 1 of every 6 individuals in Portsmouth live below the poverty line.
You can view the city council's full presentation below.