Richmond, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - In a briefing on 2024 crime statistics delivered on Thursday, Jan. 16, the Richmond Police Department said violent crime has generally trended downward.
Police Chief Rick Edwards led the briefing, in which he highlighted several areas where certain types of crime had decreased. Edwards said the city saw 53 murders in 2024, which is an 18% decrease.
“It took a lot of hard work to get us back, and I think we’re back trending in the right direction with the caveat of I know no murder is acceptable to us, and we want to keep that as low as possible,” said Chief Edwards.
In 2024, there was an overall decrease in violent crime of 5% — in 2023 there were 1,023 incidents, and in 2024 there were 967. Edwards said there was also a 19% decrease in rape — 65 incidents in 2023 to 53 incidents in 2024. Car thefts decreased by 6%.
He credited the positive change to work done during “Operation Safe Summer” and the city’s annual gun buyback event.
“We seized a lot of guns,” Edwards said. “We only had 108 people shot, which is lower than the last two years and 20% down from the highest year.”
However, some areas showed need for improvement. This included a 26% annual increase in commercial burglaries and a 3% increase in shoplifting incidents.
Chief Edwards also focused on speeding in the report, particularly in school zones. He said the new safety camera program has already led to nearly 27,000 tickets being issued. The grace period ends on Feb. 26.
He also shared his own story about speeding, saying he was recently pulled over by one of his own officers for going nearly 30 miles over the speed limit in a 35-zone on the way to a meeting.
“He came here [and] he informed me that I was going 61 miles an hour in a 35 [mph zone], Edwards said. “So I asked him to issue me a summons.”
Holding up the summons, he added: “It’s important for me [and] it’s important for our community to slow down, and I will deal with the consequences of this.”
Edwards added that he and Mayor Danny Avula hope to announce more public safety initiatives soon.
