VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Members of law enforcement, public safety professionals and community leaders came together Tuesday morning at the Sheraton Virginia Beach Oceanfront to discuss ways to improve the quality of Virginians’ lives.  

Virginias Attorney General Jason Miyares spoke to a room full of local law enforcement and community leaders at the Ceasefire Virginia conference about an initiative he believes is making a difference.   

“No Virginian should ever be living in our great Commonwealth in fear,” Miyares said.

Miyares explained Ceasefire Virginia is a three-pronged approach focused on getting rid of violent crime in high-crime cities.  

Of the 13 cities involved, about half are in Hampton Roads. 

He said the way it works is through prevention, intervention and prosecution. 

“There are people alive today in Virginia that do not realize that they are alive because we were able to intervene and prosecute and get their would be killer off the street,” Miyares said.  

Miyares said that murder was at a 20-year high in the Commonwealth when he took office, but he said that, since Ceasefire Virginia began in 2022, murder rates have dropped 30%, noting that “40% of all of our reductions have been in our ceasefire cities, they’ve seen a 66% reduction in their murder rate.”

One of the impacted cities is Norfolk.  

Jamonicus White, a captain with the Norfolk Police Department, said he’s seeing violence on the street come down. 

“Grants like Ceasefire help us do that with the different programs we can put in place, working with our community partners, some of our community violence interrupters, who are here today to just implement those strategies that work in the community,” White said. 

Since it’s an effort that involves many players on a state and local level, Miyares acknowledged those local community leaders that were in the room so they can continue making a difference.  

“This conference is to bring the best and the brightest from around the Commonwealth, so you could share that communication and that information, because the best practices, I’m a firm believer, is what we then carry back to our own localities,” Miyares said. 

Miyares added they plan to go to the General Assembly to ask to expand Ceasefire Virginia to more localities.