PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Portsmouth Police Chief Stephen Jenkins hosted his quarterly forum Wednesday night, addressing recent gun violence and crime in the city.
“If you have the ability to be able to do something to help us with our problem, why don’t you step up and do something,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins addressed the city with numbers that show a recent jump in crime, but he said reducing it will take a community effort.
“Everybody, take a piece of this monster and let’s start working together to be able to fix some of these issues,” Jenkins said. “We’ve already identified some of our challenges. Now that we have them identified, now, let’s devise a plan on how we tackle it.”
Jenkins broke down some of the city’s recent statistics.
“We had some shootings, of course, that stuck out,” Jenkins said. “Aggravated assaults continue to be challenging. Stolen vehicles is down, but it’s something that we are constant about, our larcenies for motor vehicle parts, and shoplifting. All of those things are challenging for us.”