NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - More than 40 members of the Newport News Police Department and local organizations showed up to Aqueduct Apartments Wednesday afternoon for a Domestic Violence Awareness Walk, talking with residents and providing information and resources on the prevention of domestic-related incidents.
Police Chief Steve Drew says Newport News averages up to 600 domestic violence incidents every month and that the number has not decreased significantly since he first took the top job three and a half years ago.
The police department currently employs a Domestic Violence Team comprised of two advocates, a sergeant, a detective and an intern from Christopher Newport University.
The walk also gave police officers the chance to connect with the community, with a few of them taking time to pass a football with some of the children in the neighborhood.
"The reason we're here is, I don't want it to just be something that we have a kickoff at police headquarters and we talk about it, and that's it. For me it is: Let's put some action behind that. It's a passion of mine, and what we do in our communities and those that are suffering in silence that we don't know about until we see, we don't see until there's a report done. That's what I'm trying to get out of," Chief Drew said.
Related: Candlelight vigil honors local victims and survivors of domestic violence
