A Mighty Cause; Hungry For An Audit; Crime Update; Rollin’ On the River…
RVA 5x5 - April 20, 2024
No algorithms. No content filters. No A.I. — Honest and insightful analysis from Richmond, VA.
This week check out our stories on:
An extensive look at crime in Richmond and the efforts by the Mayor and the Police Department to try and stem the recent troubling spike.
A mini-audit found that while the city has taken some procedural steps to fix the meals tax mess, the number of those affected is much higher than previously acknowledged that will take longer to fix.
The efforts to save Richmond Community Hospital are ongoing, but unfortunately, so are the plans for Virginia Union to just plow ahead with their apartment project which seems more important than protecting black history.
An awesome preview of what is coming to Brown’s Island in the next few years as a major overhaul is announced to make it more of a anytime destination and bring people to the river’s edge…
STORY #1 — Crime Update
The City’s Police Chief held his regular quarterly crime briefing Thursday and the stats for the first three months told a better story that the first three weeks of April. There have been far too many stories in recent weeks about shootings across the city and to date, nine homicides have occurred since March 31 (including four juveniles).
The chief said at a press conference with the Mayor last Monday about the spate of shootings since Easter that “The common theme in these murders are simple arguments that have escalated into gunfire” and police were focusing on more than ever on the “hotspots” where data shows crime has been spiking, including keeping an eye outside schools where verbal arguments in the schools or online between students have escalated into violence.
Five of the homicides occurred in the known hotspots and others were shot and wounded in them, according to the Chief. Police have identified 21 gun-violence hotspots across the city using about 29,000 small grids each about one to three blocks wide based on data from 2018 to 2023 with a focus on the last six to twelve months. They monitor data for homicides, involving firearms, non fatal shootings, robberies where a person is shot, and shooting into dwellings or vehicles. The Chief said in the coming weeks, marked and unmarked cars will be in neighborhoods with a focus on the hotspots.
"There's going to be a deterrent strategy. So, you'll see marked police officers with the lights flashing in those areas," said Edwards. "If some of those are drug areas, we'll be having drug enforcement. Some of those are areas where we're experiencing gunfire and we're going to be working on that with our partners. It's going to be a visible and non-visible presence by law enforcement."
Part of the strategy includes reaching out to the community and asking the public to help and report if they see problems brewing in their neighborhoods or online or in communities and report illegal or stolen firearms At the press conference Monday, Stoney and the Chief also announced an 11:00pm curfew for children under 18. Stoney said firmly that “young people who choose to pick up a gun and pull the trigger, we will find you, you will be held accountable. I can guarantee you that.”
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to RVA 5x5 to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.