Homicides in region plummet

By Mark Bowes

Published: January 4, 2009

Richmond's dramatic drop in homicides last year fueled a notable decline in killings throughout central Virginia, which fell below 100 for the first time in years.

The 21 localities that make up the greater metropolitan region collectively recorded 82 homicides in 2008, or 20 percent fewer than the 103 slayings in 2007, according to an analysis of homicide data by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Although Richmond accounted for 44 percent of the region's killings, the city's low homicide count compared with previous years was largely responsible for the drop in the region.

Excluding four cases considered justifiable homicide or manslaughter, Richmond officially recorded 32 killings in 2008, or 23 fewer than the year before. That made 2008 the city's least-deadly year since the early 1970s.

Richmond police and prosecutors attribute the historically low number to stronger relationships among local, state and federal law-enforcement agencies, aggressive targeting of violent offenders and cooperation from residents who are fed up with violence.

"Unrelenting work and effort by everyone is what is needed in 2009," said Richmond police Maj. John Venuti.

With Richmond leading the way, 13 of the region's 21 localities reported either no increase or a decrease in killings last year; of those 13, nine had no homicides at all.

John D. Reitzel, an assistant professor of criminal-justice studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, said Richmond's turnaround is nothing short of remarkable.

"This is amazing, considering only about 12 years ago they had about 121 homicides and have been averaging over 80 for the past decade," said Reitzel, who examined the data collected by The Times-Dispatch. In 1994, Richmond led the nation in per-capita homicides with 160 killings.

Although Richmond authorities certainly deserve great credit, Reitzel believes part of the drop can be attributed to national homicide trends. Los Angeles, Detroit and other U.S. cities have seen notable decreases in homicides.

"This is not to say that the police don't have an effect -- just that this magnificent drop appears linked, at least cursorily, to national level trends," said Reitzel, who regularly tracks crime in the region.

The fact that nearly 44 percent of the region's homicides still occurred within Richmond's city limits "is to be expected," Reitzel said, "since Richmond is an urban center and the most densely populated of all the localities in the area."

Reitzel noted another remarkable achievement -- 66 of the region's 82 homicides have been solved, for a clearance rate of 80 percent. By comparison, the national average was 61.2 percent in 2007, according to the FBI.

. . .

The area's two most populous localities showed no significant change in slayings last year. Henrico County recorded 16 killings, one less than the previous year, while Chesterfield County reported 11 slayings, up one from 2007.

Although Henrico had fewer homicides last year, police say they are concerned about the growing number of drug-related killings in the past two years. Henrico recorded five such slayings in 2007 and another five last year.

Four of those five killings in 2008 occurred in an area near the Richmond-Henrico line that police from both localities targeted late last year for drug activity and violence. In mid-December, Henrico Police Chief Henry W. Stanley Jr. described the area as a "rat's nest" in announcing that police had rounded up 18 people on drug and gun charges.

Five of the six killings that remain unsolved for 2008 are all drug-related, said Henrico police spokesman Lt. Doug Perry.

"Those are the hardest sometimes to solve because people are reluctant to come forward," Perry said. "We need the community to partner with us and come forward and bring some justice to these peoples' families."

Chesterfield last year saw a jump in domestic-related killings, with seven of the county's 11 homicides fitting that description. Those include two murder-suicides in which husbands killed themselves after killing their wives.

"Our homicides stay relatively low for [the size of] our population," said Chesterfield police Capt. Robert Skowron, noting that nine of the county's 11 homicides from 2008 have been cleared by arrest or the perpetrator's death. "But there are some things that we have very little control over."

. . .

The number of killings jumped significantly in the inner ring of localities surrounding Richmond's suburbs, which includes the counties of Hanover, Goochland, Powhatan, New Kent, Amelia and Charles City. Those localities were homicide-free in 2007 but collectively recorded nine killings last year. Only Amelia went untouched.

Powhatan was hit especially hard, recording four homicides between June and November -- the county's first killings in six years.

Powhatan Sheriff Greg Neal said he believes last year's high numbers are an anomaly.

"I think obviously the growth we've had over the last several years is giving us more work, more people, more cars, more accidents and more crimes," Neal said. "[But] these particular murders I don't associate with growth or population at all. And I don't think it's a sign of what we have to look forward to."

He noted that two of last year's killings involved family members, and another was essentially a spontaneous outburst between two groups of teens that ended in the shooting death of Tahliek Taliaferro, a popular student and football player at Powhatan High School. Only the most recent killing may have involved ongoing criminal activity, he said.

"I think Powhatan is still going to be a great place to live," Neal said. "And these [killings] are things that just happened, and we have to deal with it."

Reitzel cautioned against reading too much into the nine killings in the largely rural counties just outside the Richmond area.

"Such anomalies may not be indicative of anything but a fluke, particularly when considering the remarkable decrease in homicide across the area," he said. "It's better to be cautious about over-interpreting random crimes in more rural areas as anything but random."

But if the trend continues next year, "it's wise to take notice, given than it could be a sign of some changes," he added.

. . .

To the south, the Tri-Cities region continued to show improvement for a second straight year. Petersburg, Hopewell, Colonial Heights and the counties of Dinwiddie and Prince George collectedly reported nine slayings in 2007, or two fewer than in 2007 and seven fewer than in 2006.

Petersburg's homicide count was the lowest in four years, and police cleared all five of the city's 2008 homicides in addition to four from previous years, said Maj. James Lewis, the department's deputy chief of investigations.

Petersburg recorded seven homicides in 2007 and nine each in 2006 and 2005.

"Of course our goal is to have zero, but we're pleased that the homicide rate went down," Lewis said.

He noted that all of last year's homicides stemmed from arguments or altercations, which "can be one of the hardest crimes to prevent. When people get into an argument and lose their tempers," there's little that police can do.

On the outskirts of the Richmond region, only Louisa County reported a homicide among the largely rural localities. In 2007, Louisa saw three killings, and Caroline County four.
Contact Mark Bowes at (804) 649-6450 or .

Staff writers Reed Williams and Chris Young contributed to this report.