RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards and the Mayor Danny Avula held a joint meeting Thursday to release first-quarter crime statistics, showing a significant drop in violent crime, including a more than 50% decrease in murders compared to this time last year.
Police reported seven murders in the first quarter, compared to 15 during the same period last year. Non-fatal shootings and robberies are also trending downward.
"We're early in our staff for the first quarter, so I don't want to really pat ourselves on the back, but we did have a good first quarter," said Chief Edwards. "Murders, we're sitting at seven this time for the first quarter. Last year we had 15."
To maintain safety, police conducted a 10-day enforcement tied to the city's "Spring Forward" initiative, designed to keep youth safe and engaged during spring break. Richmond Police partnered with state police to target crime hot spots and large gatherings.
During the 10-day period, officers made 30 arrests, seized 27 firearms, and issued nearly 100 traffic summons.
"We wanted to really have a round enforcement strategy, which we did," Edwards said.
The enforcement strategy also focused on "pop-up parties," which are large, often unchaperoned gatherings that police say can turn dangerous. On March 29, a 17-year-old was shot at one of these parties.
While violent crime is down, property crime trends are mixed. Commercial burglaries are rising, with vape shops becoming a major target. More than half of all commercial burglaries this quarter involved vape stores, and some locations were hit multiple times.
Police have made arrests in connection to the repeated break-ins, apprehending three adults and a group of teens. The department noted they are now increasing patrols and enforcement at those locations.
"We really have to address these crimes, because these aren't one-off crimes. If you have one person who becomes an expert at this tactic, they can, they can really drive your crime for the entire year," Edwards said.
Following a mass shooting in February, CBS 6 asked Greg Hopkins, the director of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, for an update on community ambassadors in Shockoe Bottom. Hopkins wants the ambassadors on the street no later than the first week of June to handle peace messaging and de-escalate high-risk engagements.
"We'll start the recruitment process now, but as the vetting and the training piece go, that will be with the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform," Hopkins said.
Police say the overall crime trend is moving in the right direction, but community help remains critical to keeping crime down.
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