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Portsmouth police report overall crime decline but rise in violent incidents; unveil gun-violence dashboard and new enforcement units
Summary
Chief Jenkins told council that property crimes are down about 22% year to date while violent crimes are up roughly 11%; the department launched a public gun-violence dashboard, a SAVE unit to pursue brandishing incidents and other new programs aimed at reducing shootings and retail theft.
Chief Jenkins presented Portsmouth police year-to-date crime statistics and new public-safety initiatives at a June 10 City Council work session, telling council members that property crimes have fallen while violent incidents have increased.
“we're we're trending in a very good direction as it relates to our property crimes,” Chief Jenkins said, reporting a roughly 22.2% decrease year to date compared with the same period last year. He said the department is about 300 incidents lower than last year for property crimes. By contrast, Jenkins said violent crime was up about 11% year to date and cited increases in aggravated assaults, brandishing of firearms and shootings into occupied dwellings.
The chief described a string of recent incidents, including a shooting at a graduation-party gathering on Viking Street that left four victims expected to recover; he said investigators found shell casings of at least four different calibers and that possible suspects range in age from 16 to 20. Jenkins also described an accidental juvenile shooting and an incident still under investigation where scene evidence and initial victim statements did not align.
Jenkins credited recent technology investments for helping investigations. He described using a gunshot-detection system (Flock), portable trailer cameras, license-plate readers and store video to identify suspects and make arrests within hours in at least one case. He said two suspects arrested in a daytime shootout received no bond.
The department has launched several new initiatives, Jenkins said. A gun-violence dashboard, posted on the Portsmouth Police Department website, provides near–real-time information on shootings by neighborhood, days since the last shooting and stolen firearms year to date; Jenkins said the dashboard is updated daily. Jenkins also outlined a “Social Media Most Wanted” effort to post larceny and retail-theft suspects publicly and to use Crime Line rewards and business partnerships to solicit tips.
Jenkins described a new Strategic Anti-Violence Enforcement (SAVE) unit focused on lower-level gun offenses such as brandishing, with the unit taking proactive charges when witnesses or victims decline to pursue them. He said the unit began in April and has led to charges in roughly 40 brandishing reports and an estimated 50% decrease in incidents examined by the unit during that initial period.
Additional steps include a monthly officer community-problem-solving project requiring every officer to carry an assigned neighborhood problem to address and a plan to deploy police cadets and public-safety officers for non-sworn, administrative responses such as some vehicle-crash reports. Jenkins also said the department is pursuing national accreditation from CALEA (Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies) and expects to be awarded “advanced” accreditation after in-person and online assessments.
Council members asked about casework resources and communication with victims of unsolved crimes; Chief Jenkins said the department has a small pair of retired, part-time investigators assigned to cold cases but acknowledged the unit needs more staff and that he is working to improve periodic family updates. Jenkins also described an incoming tool called “PowerEngage” that will notify callers by text when an officer is assigned to their case and allow citizens to receive updates and rate service.
Council members praised the dashboard’s ability to show facts to residents and discussed outreach to civic leagues and the city’s website and potential mobile app integrations to make the dashboard more accessible. Several council members raised retail theft as a major driver of losses; Jenkins noted prior large shrink figures at some regional retail locations and said changes such as removing self-checkout and making higher-value items counter controlled had reduced theft in those stores.
No formal council action was taken at the work session; council members and staff discussed next steps for public outreach, staffing and partnerships with nonprofit violence-interruption groups.
