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Chesapeake police report arrests, firearms seizures in joint operations with Virginia State Police
Summary
Chief described two-year partnership with Virginia State Police under Operation Bold Blue Line and Operation Ceasefire, giving counts of traffic stops, arrests and seized weapons and noting a $692,000 award for department equipment and forensic capacity.
Chief Salevski of the Chesapeake Police Department updated the City Council at its Jan. 28 work session on two multi‑agency enforcement initiatives — Operation Bold Blue Line and Operation Ceasefire — carried out with the Virginia State Police’s 5th Division.
The chief said the initiatives, announced by Governor Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares in 2022, were intended to reduce violent crime and improve traffic safety by pairing state troopers with city officers for targeted operations. "Since these initiatives were announced, the combined efforts of the Chesapeake Police Department and the Virginia State Police have resulted in over 1,350 traffic stops, a 150 felony and misdemeanor charges being secured, over 65 outstanding arrest warrants being served, over 340 traffic summonses being issued, the seizure of 17 illegal firearms and the recovery of 2 stolen vehicles," Salevski reported to council.
Salevski described a December enforcement period that concentrated on areas experiencing increased violent crime, including the Airline Boulevard corridor (Holly Cove), Portsmouth Boulevard, the Campus Stella area and Indian River corridor. He said that December operation yielded 211 traffic stops, 41 arrests on felony and misdemeanor charges, 11 arrest warrants served, 39 traffic summonses, six illegal firearms seized and recovery of one stolen vehicle.
As part of broader state criminal-justice funding tied to those initiatives, Salevski said the Criminal Justice Services Board awarded roughly $692,000 to the department. The chief said the award will be used to buy laptop computers for patrol and investigative units, ballistic shields for patrol officers, surveillance cameras for the gang suppression unit, climate-control equipment and forensic workstations for the Internet Crimes Against Children unit and forensic devices for crime-scene analysis.
Captain Brian Ola of the Virginia State Police’s 5th Division, present at the meeting, reaffirmed the partnership and said state troopers are committed to supporting local public-safety efforts. Council members and the city manager praised the collaboration and urged staff to document the outcomes for the governor’s office, the secretary of public safety and the attorney general.
Council members noted the programs’ contributions to public safety and thanked both departments for the partnership. No council action was required; the presentation was an informational briefing.
