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Portsmouth reviews recent crime data, highlights community violence intervention program

City of Portsmouth City Council · January 28, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

City officials heard a police briefing showing recent reductions and a report from Portsmouth United on FY25 programs: 23 community partners, 10,659 participants, and a 10-person violence-interruption team deployed citywide; council asked for more granular crime data and noted funding uncertainty for the state-funded program.

PORTSMOUTH, Va.

City officials on Jan. 27 heard a police briefing that cited recent declines in several categories of reported crime and a detailed update from Portsmouth United, the city'linked community violence-intervention (CVI) program that funds local partners and a violence-interruption team.

Chief of Police Daryl Jenkins told the council that NIBRS-based reporting showed an overall reduction of about 17% for the Oct. 1'Dec. 31 reporting period, with crimes against persons down roughly 11.7% in that quarter and property crimes down about 20.3%, driven largely by larceny and theft. Jenkins also cited a three-year average (2022'2025) figure he described as a roughly 55% decline in selected reported incidents and said the department has improved response times and aims for an 8% reduction in crime in 2026.

"We're really focusing on what's going on in 2026," Jenkins said, while outlining operational steps: monthly community forums held in neighborhoods rather than quarterly sessions at police headquarters, a public Power BI crime dashboard, expanded supervisory promotions, peer-support certification for officers and plans to build officer and civilian support-staff capacity.

Why it matters

Portsmouth United, which uses state "Safer Communities" funds, is the city's intervention arm meant to reduce…

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