PORTSMOUTH, Va. — It's a growing trend plaguing our community, leading Portsmouth police to address the issue of crime in a public session they held Monday evening to discuss solutions.
Portsmouth city leaders shined a light on crime as concerned residents sat in on the public work session.
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"We have got to set a tone in this city that Portsmouth is not the place for foolishness," said Councilman Veron Tillage. "Until we set that tone, we're going to continue to see a dysfunction amongst the community, a dysfunction amongst departments."
There are increasing concerns about homicides and drug busts within the city. But the Portsmouth Police Department said new technology coming soon will help officers crack down on more criminals to make the city safer for everyone.
"As of today again we have 16 victims of homicide," said Police Chief Stephen Jenkins.
Portsmouth police did acknowledge this issue along with the recentdrug busts News 3 has covered. However, Jenkins says all the blame cannot fall on the department as they currently battle with a lack of manpower.
"Please understand that this job is already tough," Jenkins said. "We understand your frustrations, I'm frustrated, too, from time to time. When you're operating a department that's already at a deficit and probably works harder than any department in Hampton roads by far," said Jenkins.
But Jenkins explained there are solutions to this chaos the city is seeing, starting with new technology that's coming soon. That Includes flock cameras that will recognize stolen cars and the Raven system that will detect gunshots and notify police within minutes.
Police are also looking to enhance their current Fusus system that provides officers with real-time crime updates that can be read here.
"We're hopeful that this will give us additional information about crime trends that are happening in other places across the country so that we can continue to educate our public on things that are happening," said Jenkins.
Sharon Anderon, a Portsmouth resident, attended Monday night's city council meeting. She said the city gets a bad rap. Anderson said she's happy to see solutions in place when it comes to decreasing crime, however, she wants to see more of her neighbors get involved.
"Get involved with your civic leagues that will help. If you see something say something," said Anderson.
It's a desperate plea she hopes many will hear.
In the meantime, Interim city manager Mimi Terry will be providing an update on the new technology and techniques the city will use to fight crime.
