In 2024, Richmond made strides in lowering violent crime across the board, according to data presented on Thursday by the
Richmond Police Department . “For the first time that we could find in the data (since 2014), we are under 1,000 violent crimes,” said Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards. “While no shootings and no murders are acceptable to us, I believe it’s still trending in the right direction.” The total number of violent crime incidents in the city dropped from 1,023 to 967. Each category under the violent crime umbrella saw a decrease from 2023 to 2024, including homicide (65 to 53), rape (64 to 52), commercial robbery (71 to 57), individual robbery (224 to 216) and aggravated assault (599 to 589). Of note, individual robberies have dropped 59% since 2014, a year that had 427 incidents in Richmond.
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Edwards credited the reduction in violent crime in part to RPD’s hot spot curve, which identifies areas experiencing gun violence and sends officers. RPD identified 17 hot spots in Richmond last year, with most of them in the East End and South Side. Non-fatal shootings in Richmond increased from 190 to 200, while accidental shootings rose from 25 to 28. Certain property crimes went up in 2024 such as shoplifting (1,819 to 1,878 incidents) and commercial burglary (161 to 203). Edwards said 49% of the city’s shoplifting incidents have occurred at
Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority stores . “We’re working closely with ABC,” Edwards said. “We’ve made some progress in some of the stores, but it’s still trending up.”
'Yellow House' seizure improves neighborhood
One case RPD highlighted was the bust of a Union Hill residence known as “The Yellow House.” Since at least 2008 — some officials and residents said it goes back much further — the house at 2221 Venable St. had been plagued by drug trafficking, overdoses, prostitution and other crime. In 2022, RPD and federal law enforcement partnered on three seizures of the house, which turned up heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, several prescription drugs, four firearms and more than $30,000 in cash. Four individuals were arrested on charges of possession with intent to distribute in connection with the search warrants. A fifth individual was arrested on a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Last year, U.S. attorneys worked with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to file a lawsuit against the property. After the owner of the house failed to respond,
the property was forfeited to the U.S. government on Thursday . “It became a hub for activities that are antithetical, frankly, to the values and aspirations of the residents of Union Hill,” said U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber. “The Yellow House will be sold, it will be cleaned up and it will be used for productive purposes.” With the house out of commission, Edwards said the neighborhood has seen fewer incidents and complaints. “Since the civil seizure, we’ve had zero quality-of-life calls for service,” he said. “No overdoses, no disorderly conducts, no drunk in public 911 calls. I hope that stays.”
Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards and U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber discuss a drug bust in the Union Hill neighborhood during Thursday's crime briefing. Shockoe thefts remain an issue
Crimes involving vehicles went in a positive direction in 2024, with motor vehicle thefts decreasing from 1,571 to 1,429; theft from motor vehicles dropping from 2,706 to 2,429; and firearm thefts from motor vehicles going down from 643 to 540. Even with the decrease in firearms stolen from cars, Edwards said that is 540 guns “in the hands of people that shouldn’t have them.” That number is propped up by the combined Shockoe Bottom and Shockoe Slip area; 26% of firearms are taken from vehicles in those hubs. “It’s incredibly frustrating for me,” Edwards said. “That is something we continue to need to work on in our community.” RPD invested extra resources into the Shockoe area during Operation Safe Summer last year, including mandated overtime, but is still working to solve the problem there. “We’re talking with the city attorney’s office to see if there’s a way we can limit the ability for folks to openly carry guns in what is essentially an entertainment district,” Edwards said. “All it takes is for one person to get shot and then all hell breaks loose and everyone’s going to start shooting. That’s a real, clear concern of mine.”
Traffic safety remains an emphasis
In Richmond, traffic fatalities decreased from 25 in 2023 to 17 last year. “While I’m pleased with the decrease of 32%, it’s still tragic and preventable in many cases,” Edwards said. The city's
safety camera program is one way the department is working to improve traffic safety, which has been a hot-button topic in Richmond. The latest speed cameras are now active near Thomas Jefferson High School (1400 block of Malvern Avenue) and Richmond High School for the Arts (4000 block of Midlothian Turnpike), with the grace period ending Feb. 26. More than 26,000 citations from the program have been reviewed and issued to drivers since last March’s rollout. The school zone with the highest number of citations is Linwood Holton Elementary — one of March’s pilot locations — with 7,256 citations along the 1600 block of West Laburnum Avenue. However, the Frances W. McClenney Elementary speed zone at 3817 Chamberlayne Ave. has seen 6,006 citations despite being active only since October.
Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards holds up a summons during his department's crime briefing on Thursday. Edwards said he was pulled over on Wednesday for driving 61 in a 35 mph zone. Chief reveals own violation
Toward the end of the crime briefing, Edwards told attendees that he got pulled over in his police car on Wednesday while driving southbound on the Lee Bridge. “One of the officers who I send out every day to pull people over pulled me over in my police car,” Edwards said. “After learning how fast I was going, I spoke to his supervisor and asked him to come to headquarters.” As it turned out, Edwards was going 61 in a 35 mph zone. He said he asked the officer to issue him a summons, which he held up in front of the attendees. He said he had no good reason why he was speeding. “It’s important for me, it’s important for our community to slow down, and I will deal with the consequences of this,” Edwards said. “So I didn’t want you to hear from someone somewhere else; you’re going to hear it from me.”
From the Archives: Richmond police in the 1980s
09-19-1986: Richmond police bureau's property and evidence room. 11-18-1989 (cutline): City Clerk Joseph Ivey yesterday swears in some of the 36 members of the Richmond Police Bureau who received promotions recently. One lieutenant was promoted to captain, 12 sergeants became lieutenants and 23 police officers or detectives advanced to sergeant. 06-04-1987: Richmond police. 10-03-1983 (cutline): Detective Norris L. Evans in workout room. 06-18-1981 (cutline): Richmond officer Martha R. Leas uses Emergency Phone downtown. City will disconnect yellow call boxes to save money starting July 1. 10-16-1985 (cutline): Richmond police officers line up for inspection before going out on their beats on Saturday night. 10-14-1986: Richmond police 'A Squad Division.' 07-30-1982 (cutline): Patrolman Otis McKay sits on one of three new three-wheeled Honda motorcycles put in use Monday in Richmond. The water-cooled bike is the only three-wheeled model now available in the country and can perform well for any traffic duty, said Traffic Sgt. R.C. Eades. 07-19-1983 (cutline): W.A. Brown directs traffic in Richmond. 03-04-1986 (cutline): Sgt. Albert McKoy of the forensic unit stands beside crime lab's new color photography equipment. 10-09-1983: Patrolmen Linwood G. Bennett Jr., and Janet C. Clarke. 05-25-1988: Richmond police meeting. 05-06-1987 (cutline): In Richmond, Richard Warthen and Adrianne Ballard are patrol officers. 09-19-1986 (cutline): (left to right) Linwood G. Bennett, Sgt., Chetin Basaran, PTL, Keith J. Wassmer, PTL. 01-24-1985 (cutline): A 10-by-20-foot police prefabricated structure is being prepared for occupancy by Richmond's downtown walking police officers. The ministation, at Fifth and Broad streets, was delivered Tuesday, and should be ready for an open house in about a week, said police Maj. Joseph Higgins. Walking officers will use the structure as a base where they can write reports, and the building will be manned by police officers who will aid tourists downtown, police have said. 12-08-1983 (cutline): Police Sgt. Robert C. Eades instructs Neighborhood Assistance Officer Brenda Pega in the use of a breathalyzer. 09-07-1982 (cutline): A South Richmond man held police at bay for about 30 minutes yesterday when he fired a shot into the air from the back door of his home. Police arrested the man, Leroy Campbell, and charged him with discharging a firearm with the city. Additional units were called to the scene when police saw a woman, child and another man inside the house and thought them to be hostages. Police evacuated neighbors and cleared a nearby playground before surrounding the home. When officers entered the house, they found Campbell lying in bed. Campbell was being held in the city lockup last night on $500 bond. 02-18-1984 (cutline): Major Joe Higgins (left) and Capt. Charles Bennett (right) watch as Sgt. George Stitzer, Jr., briefs the men and women of the Second Precinct. 10-30-1989 (cutline): Computer screen displays location of officers in South Richmond. 10-23-1989 (cutline): Richmond police officer Melvin Bond stands by poster urging end to crimes against blacks by blacks. Frank Duling (left), who was Richmond’s police chief, inspected new officers at the Virginia War Memorial in April 1989. Duling started his police career in 1944 and became chief in 1967. He retired in 1989. 12-20-1983 (cutline): Sgt. Eades giving NAOs classroom instruction on breathalyzers. 03-17-1988 (cutline): Patricia Washington issues 100 parking tickets yesterday. She had issued about 70,000 tickets in her nearly six years with the city. 10-03-1983 (cutline): Richmond Patrolman Sherrel Smith Jr., with the Information Systems Division of Police Planning Operations, works at a computer terminal--a new tool used in crime fighting. 02-19-1984 (cutline): Patrolmen of the 2nd precinct prepare to find their cars at 8 p.m. 02-18-1984 (cutline): Patrolmen (L-R) Claude Booker and Dandridge Hawkes prepare to get into their patrol cars at 8 p.m. at the Second Precinct. 07-08-1985: Left: Acting Sgt. H. D. Caldwell, Jr. Right: W.M. Condrey patrolman and firearms instructor in Sgt's office. 07-02-1985: Richmond police at firing range. From L-R: Patrolman Cheryl Nici, W.M. L. Condrey, Gene E. Bouscher. 03-22-1989 (cutline): The interview room is the scene of some of the most criucial police work of Sgt. Norman A. Harding, Jr. Woody served as the lead homicide detective in the Johnson/Brown and Newtowne gang probes. 03-22-1989 (cutline): Then and Now--Detective Sgt. Norman A. Harding Jr. stands beside a portrait of himself as a rookie 27 years ago.
