SUFFOLK, Va. — The Suffolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office is launching "Operation Ceasefire" to seek out bad actors in the community before the violence happens.
Suffolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Narendra Pleas said homicides and firearm felonies are two big concerns on their radar. They recently received a $326,500 grant to jumpstart the Operation Ceasefire program to tackle the rise in crime.
“We have seen a rising trend since 2019, especially in homicides," Pleas said. "While comparatively across the region we are still lower than our neighbors, for Suffolk it is quite high."
Pleas said in 2019 there were six homicides in the city. During the height of the pandemic in 2020, she said they had three homicides. That number went up to seven in 2021, 13 in 2022, and five so far in 2023.
“We would like to address that trend and try to do something before it gets really out of hand," Pleas said.
Now, prosecutors are trying to tackle the violent uptick with Operation Ceasefire.
“This will be a zero-tolerance approach," said Amanda Abbey.
Abbey is a newly-hired prosecutor and is at the helm of the program. Through police intelligence, she said they will identify bad actors in the community.
“Criteria involves whether or not they are gang members or gang affiliated," Abbey said. "What their criminal history is, what is their history on supervision? What was their history in schools, what is the age group that they are in?"
Next, Abbey said those people get a one-time warning.
"After they are identified, what happens next is a cease and desist notice," Abbey said. "And this notice advises them Operation Ceasefire is focused on them, we know what they are doing in the community, we know they are instigating violence in the community, and the community is no longer going to tolerate it.”
Operation Ceasefire then connects them with helpful resources.
“Community partners for education, for substance abuse treatment, for mental health resources," Pleas said. "Those things will help steer individuals away from activities that can cause violent crime.”
Abbey said the overall goal is to stop violent crime before it’s too late.
"We want them to be successful productive citizens in the community and we are going to offer this one opportunity to assist them in becoming productive citizens in our community," Abbey said.
Over the next two years, Abbey said the goal is to decrease violent crime in the city by 10%. The Suffolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office encourages people to reach out if they have any concerns about potential criminal activity that could lead to violence in their community.
The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services gave the grant to the Suffolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. It covers two years of the Operation Ceasefire program.