Richmond's murder rate drops while counties see rise

The number of homicides in Richmond plummeted in 2022.

Why it matters: It's a welcome reversal after a nationwide increase in murders that coincided with the beginning of the pandemic.

By the numbers: Homicides in Richmond dropped from 90 in 2021 — the highest number in nearly two decades — to 57 in 2022.

• Meanwhile, violent crime overall was flat.

👀 Zoom out: While numbers were down in the city, Chesterfield and Henrico counties each reported record homicides, according to figures provided by those agencies and FBI statistics.

• Chesterfield saw homicides tick up from 12 to 18.
• And Henrico County reported an increase from 25 to 30.

Of note: The rate of homicides per capita remains significantly higher in the city.

What they're saying: Acting police chief Rick Edwards credited the city's drop to a midyear shift in strategy to focus patrols on gun violence hotspots identified by the department's analysis team.

• “We were on track to have another really bad year,” he said during a crime briefing Wednesday. “So what we wanted to do was look at those data points.”

Yes, but: The number of thefts and burglaries rose all over the region.

Edwards attributed a 22% increase in property crimes in Richmond almost entirely to thefts from motor vehicles.

• He said that includes a concerning jump in the number of firearms stolen from vehicles, which he said increased from 413 in 2021 to 714 last year.