September Highlights: Norfolk's Progress, Safety Improvements, and More

Hello!

I hope you are doing well. September was a good month full of civic league meetings, progress in the city and a very favorable safety update from Norfolk Police Chief Mark Talbot.

Safety remains the top priority for the Norfolk City Council. On Tuesday, September 24, Chief Talbot updated my colleagues and me on the crime statistics for the first six months of 2024 compared to the first six months in 2023. Great news! City-wide total crime is down 12%. Total violent crime (homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) is down 31%. And total property crime (burglary, larceny, and stolen vehicle) is down 10%. In Ward 2, total crime is up 10%, only due to larcenies being up 28% (recall the multiple car break-ins in garages and neighborhoods in recent months that have now dissipated). Total violent crime is down 46% while total property crime is up 14%–again due to the larcenies. I am thankful to see the crime trending downward in the city.

The residents speak again! Norfolk administered a resident survey to hear from you on the direction of the city. The results were very good and insightful. We can compare these results to the 2022 resident survey to see what progress we have made in areas of interest to the residents. There were significant increases with overall Police service and feeling of safety in Norfolk. 61% feel the city is moving in the right direction compared to 47% in 2022. Notable increases in satisfaction since 2022 include library and recreation programming, feeling of safety downtown, overall feeling of safety in Norfolk and in your neighborhood, feeling of safety in your neighborhood at night and visibility of police in neighborhoods and retail/commercial areas. Notable decreases in satisfaction since 2022 include condition of major city streets, recycling services, scooter and e-bike services and maintenance of public buildings and facilities. Lastly, residents said their overall top priorities are public schools, traffic flow, enforcing codes and ordinances and human services (adult, family, juvenile services, public assistance and homelessness). These results provide good input as to where we should be focusing our priorities.

November 5 is Election Day, but you can vote early. Here is a link for information on early voting locations in Norfolk.

https://www.norfolk.gov/4457/Absentee-Voting-Resources

My best to you for a fun weekend ahead. The weather looks beautiful. Hope to see you soon.

Cheers,

Courtney