VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Violent crimes in Virginia Beach fell by more than 20% last year as shooting incidents and the homicide rate each fell by more than 40%, according to newly-released crime statistics.
Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate outlined the declines in violent crime and other statistics to City Council Tuesday.
Neudigate said the city’s 22% reduction in violent crime in 2024 was the result of several factors, including a targeted focus on individuals engaging in gun violence, increased use of technology, such as expanded closed-circuit and license plate reader cameras and strong investigative work by the department’s Detective Bureau, leading to quick arrests. He also praised the Virginia Beach Commonwealth Attorney’s Office for its dedication to prosecuting violent crimes, as well as the courts for ensuring sentencing is appropriate for the offenses committed.
The reduction in Part I crimes — which include violent crimes such as homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, and property crimes such as burglary, motor vehicle theft, theft from a motor vehicle and all other larceny — is a credit to the work of the department, its use of technology and its real-time crime center and collaboration with other regional partners, he said.
“In addition to the great police work and community assistance, technology aids those efforts, with an expanded citywide camera network and regional license plate readers playing a key role,” Neudigate said. “By providing real-time data and capturing essential details like vehicle license plates, we can quickly identify suspect vehicles to aid our investigations. These technologies routinely enhance our ability to keep the community safe and ensure we use all available resources to protect our community.”
Here are highlights from Neudigate’s presentation.
- Just 5.5% of the 7,977 Part I crimes last year were violent, with violent crimes down 22.3% compared to 2023 and down 21% compared to the previous three-year average (2021-2023). It makes 2024 the lowest year for violent crimes in the city in the past five years.
- Property crime is down 4.3% compared to 2023 (7,882 in 2023 and 7,541 in 2024), with larcenies from motor vehicles down 17% and thefts of motor vehicles down 27%. Those numbers are the lowest they have been in five years.
- There were 37 shooting incidents in the city last year, down 49% from the previous year’s 73. The number of shooting victims went down 56%, from 88 to 39, and Virginia Beach Police seized or got possession of 1,221 illegally possessed firearms last year.
- The city saw a 46% drop in the homicide rate, with the number of homicides going down from 24 to 13, and of those, the city’s police department has positively cleared all of them, making its 100% rate nearly twice as high as the national average of 52%, as reported by the FBI in 2022.
- Vehicle crashes in the city are down 4% since 2023 and 7% since 2022, with fatal crashes down 31% since 2023. Its statistics state that, when compared to neighboring Hampton Roads cities, it has the lowest rate of crash fatalities per 100,000 residents at 4.8.
“If you decide to engage in violent crime in the city of Virginia Beach, rest assured that there is a high probability that you will be arrested, convicted, and sentenced to a substantial prison term,” Neudigate said.
To read Virginia Beach’s 2024 crime statistics review, see below: