The population of Charlottesville is small relative to other cities in the Commonwealth. It has about 45,000 year-round residents. In 2024, 163 of them were arrested for violent crimes, but in 2025, the number feel to 123. Police chief Michael Kochis credits a targeted, data-drive approach to prevention.
“We sit down and review the prior month’s data, and we will adjust how we’re deploying our resources based on what we’re seeing— trends we’re looking at,” he explains. “Then we identify those specific individuals who continue to prey on the community.”
But, he says, the problem of gun-related crime persists, in part because guns are so prevalent but also because people are picking fights online…