RICHMOND, Va. -- Despite a rise in crimes committed by juveniles in Richmond, last month Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards reported that violent crime was down three percent compared to the mid-year point of 2023.
That statistic headlined his mid-year crime briefing.
The update came after a violent spring that led city leaders and law enforcement to designate 21 city blocks as "hot spots" for crime.
In April, I visited one of those hot spots to talk with residents about what they were experiencing.
Now just over three months later, I went back to the 600 block of Westover Hills Boulevard to see what, if anything, has changed after police beefed up patrols.
"When I first moved in here, we heard a lot of noise and some gunshots," Jarod Manley said as he unloaded groceries.
"It was outrageous," said Dorinda Gill as she walked her dog. "I mean, literally, you hear gunshots late at night, arguing. One morning we got up, and there was a body near the trash can."
Manley and Gill were among the people living in one of the Richmond Police Department's designated "hot spots" who say they know why it's included on that list.
"Car break-ins, people trying to get parts from the car, or breaking windows, trying to steal the stuff inside their vehicles," Manley said.
That block of Westover Hills Boulevard is among nearly two dozen other city blocks that, starting in the spring, had added police patrols during peak crime hours and increased police visibility at random hours.
"For example, our officers pick one of these 21 spots and do their outdoor roll call, that they would normally do inside the building, and do it out in the community," said Chief Edwards. "And invariably, when people see seven or so cops out there with a sergeant talking, they engage, and we just say, 'Hey, we're out here. We're talking about the briefing from the previous night's events. We're looking at crime trends, and this is what we're seeing in your neighborhood.'"
After Edwards announced the modest drop in violent crime year over year, I spoke with some residents in South Richmond who said they'd noticed.
"There's been some change," Manley said. "Police been around checking the area. It's changed a lot in the past seven years. We've seen cops and patrolling, and checking out everything."
That visibility, according to Edwards is now one of the department's key tools for assessing staff performance.
"That's one of the things that we hold our supervisors accountable for," Edwards said. "I will never set a goal for gun seizures. I will never set a goal for traffic stops or felony arrests, but I do set goals for these visits. We measure them, and we track them every week and the captains have to present them. And if they're short, we want to know why."
And if that brings at least a temporary lull in unwanted fireworks, that suits some residents just fine.
"You don't hear the gunshots," said Gill. "Now, the Fourth of July, New Year's, yeah, you're going to hear it, but no one is getting hurt."
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
EAT IT, VIRGINIA restaurant news and interviews
