NORFOLK, Va. – It’s a feeling that keeps some folks who live and work in Downtown Norfolk indoors away from the bars and restaurants at night.
“I notice how a lot of violence happens downtown at nighttime, but I think more of it is toward the bar area. I think a lot of the violence is alcohol-influenced,” said Crystal Chesley, who lives and works in Norfolk.
Norfolk’s entertainment district has been the site of several high-profile shootings over the last year. Since then, city leaders have been trying to find ways to cut down on the violent crime.
One of those solutions kicked off Tuesday afternoon with a special training for business owners, police and other city departments.
The three-day training was held by Safe Night LLC consulting firm and brought in by the Downtown Norfolk Council (DNC) to help make the entertainment district safer.
On the last day Thursday, business owners had a chance to join in on the conversation.
Recognizing an overly intoxicated person and stepping in before violence breaks out is just part of what business owners and city officials learned at the training.
Safe Night’s president Molly Mastoras said they talked about training bar workers in sexual assault intervention; how to look out for fake ID’s; how to manage conflict; and how to improve businesses practices.
“It’s really like, how do you best connect with human beings? How do you best develop relationships that then can be used as a positive venue for change to have people better trust each other?” said Mastoras.
The main idea is to build relationships and strengthen communication between bar owners, police, and the city, including code enforcers, such as Bill Mellon. Mellon is the inspector team leader with the Norfolk Business Compliance Unit.
“Sometimes people may not want to talk to you, maybe a little suspicious, a little bit guarded,” Mellon said. “So, if we increase the communication and the outreach, we’ll be able to talk to them and realize, hey they’re trying to help us. We’re trying to help them stay compliant with everything.”
Safe Night has also worked with Arlington County’s entertainment district and said with their recommendations, they were able to cut down on violent crime by 69% between 2015 and 2019.
Mellon said he’s hopeful the program will work.
“From what I’ve heard, they gave us practical experience, a little bit of theory,” he said. “I’m glad the Norfolk downtown council brought them in. They’re going to help the city; they’re going to help the community. We’ll get to communicate. That’s the first step forward.”
The Safe Night team said it could take about 6-9 months to see if the changes are starting to make a difference.
The contract between Safe Night and the Downtown Norfolk Council ends in August. The DNC president said the organization got a $120,000 grant from the city to partner with the consulting firm for the year.
