NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Violent crime and crime overall were down significantly in Norfolk in 2023 compared to 2022, including a 33% drop in homicides.

Norfolk Police Chief Talbot shared the 2023 figures, which WAVY’s Nick Broadway highlighted in his special report earlier this month that shows crime’s down overall in Hampton Roads, in a briefing with city council Tuesday.

Talbot also shared updates on the city’s police staffing levels, recruiting efforts and NPD’s planned Real Time Crime Center.

Overall crime was down 24% in Norfolk in 2023 compared to 2022, with overall violent crime also down by 24%. This comes as preliminary numbers from the FBI show crime went down substantially overall nationwide in 2023, including in other major cities, Talbot said.

“2023 was a good year for us,” Talbot said. “We moved in a very positive direction and ended the year significantly down in homicides.”

He hopes the trend continues in 2024 and that murders do not exceed 39, that non-fatal shootings decrease by 20% and reduce juvenile victims of gun violence by 20%.

Talbot said residents getting involved in their neighborhoods and helping to share information with the police has helped.

“There’s a whole dynamic in place that involves how much the people in the neighborhood trust their police department,” Talbot said. “We have objective evidence that we’ve increased the number of people willing to speak to us when serious crimes occur. Our rate of homicide clearances are up substantially this year, well above the national average, which is indicative of people talking to us and putting something on the line to share information with us when serious crimes occur. …”

In addition to violent crime, personal property thefts also saw a significant decrease in 2023.

“Since COVID, larcenies have been up almost every place, we’ve finally turned the corner with those, they’re down 26%,” Talbot says.

Thefts of parts from vehicles dropped 41%, Talbot says, and the number of stolen vehicles went down 20%, which Talbot attributes in part to a decrease the Kia/Hyundai TikTok theft challenge and Norfolk’s new Flock cameras, a controversial license plate reading camera system that’s also been implemented elsewhere across Hampton Roads and at the national level. Talbot says they’ve helped “substantially” in lowering crime.

“The technology is ultimately a tool we’re able to use to leverage good policing into good outcomes,” Talbot said. “The Flock system no doubt has gone a long way toward helping us reduce property crimes, in particular, stolen vehicles, I’m sure it’s helped us reduce other property crime, like theft from vehicles, and it’s helped us solve violent crimes. Typically a car is used when somebody is engaged in a particular crime, and that technology allows us to see where offenders have gone and who they might be.”

Meanwhile Talbot said the city’s planned Real Time Crime Center, a 24/7 surveillance hub that will use live cameras in addition to resources like Flock, is expected to open in March after setbacks in construction and hiring. He said they’re in the final stages of hiring five of the eight civilian positions within the crime center, and interviews are scheduled for the others.

Speaking of hiring, Talbot said his force currently has 521 sworn police officers (and 22 current recruits), just above the record low number for NPD reported in January 2023, when then-Interim Police Chief Michael Goldsmith said it was unrealistic for the force to get back above 700 officers (Norfolk budgeted for 757 in the FY2023 budget) and NPD should still expect to have just above 500 sworn officers through at least 2028.

However Talbot said they’re still pushing forward in an effort to boost staffing to get closer to the “authorized strength” of 617 officers, and NPD has exceeded its targeted staffing levels to reach 600 officers by 2026.

A focus on online marketing in recent years has led to a 31% boost in applications between 2021 and mid-2023, Talbot says, which has helped NPD reach out to and bring in recruits/officers from elsewhere in the country. Talbot said they’re expanding that advertising push to reach other areas of the country.

“We’ve made positive strides in staffing the organization and reducing the number of officers we’re losing during any period of time,” Talbot said, “and we need to continue to make progress.”

Talbot said 2023 was actually the first year since 2018 that Norfolk saw a net gain in officers.

He said Norfolk’s CivicLab is also helping to crunch the data and see what other recruitment/retention methods are working, like the referral program that gives city employees $5,000 once a recruit successfully completes the academy. He said a February 2023 gym contract with the Renova Center that provides memberships at no cost to full-time officers is also helping with retention.

Other programs include partnering with Recruit Military, which provides direct hires to NPD for $10,000 per police recruit. They guarantee the recruits will at least get through the first 90 days of the academy. If not, they’re provide a replacement for no additional cost.

Talbot added that a boost in staffing levels not only helps with officer morale, but it also helps build trust with the community.

“Ultimately, it is the impact of our work on the city that we need to pay most attention to, not how we feel internally — the impact the shortages have on police officers, although that is substantial, but making sure we’re recognizing that bringing more officers onto the force increases trust in the community because we’re able to deal more effectively with the community’s problems.”

Talbot said staffing remains NPD”s number one objective in 2024, but they also have eight other goals, such as keeping the number of murders below 40 for the year, and have a greater than 70% case clearance rate.

Talbot also addressed a question from Councilman John Paige on whether a less lethal option could have been used in last week’s police shooting of an armed man in Wards Corner.

Talbot said the department does have “less lethal” methods to subdue a suspect, but unfortunately, they were not an option in this particular circumstance.

“The reality of policing is that when you are confronted with lethal violence, there isn’t a less lethal remedy for lethal violence,” Talbot said. “In other words, when someone’s trying to kill you, you have to respond to stop the threat. “… The mental health profession has no magic, and when somebody is engaging in lethal violence, it is a police problem.”

Police said the man shot and killed by police, 31-year-old Gary Solomon, wielded a knife when approached, didn’t listen to instructions and advanced toward police before he was shot.

Solomon was homeless and was known to frequent Wards Corner. His family previously told 10 On Your Side he struggled with his mental health and had gotten into drugs.

Talbot addressed the city’s homeless crisis and the need for resources.

“We’ve definitely seen an increase in signs of homelessness and disorderly behaviors that are connected to people who are struggling or who are suffering from mental health challenges,” Talbot said. “Anybody who ends up living on the street has a buffet of challenges that have to be addressed.”

He also fielded concerns about a shortage of traffic guards in the city and more during Tuesday’s council work session.

You can watch his full presentation around the 41-minute mark here.