Newport News, an independent city in the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia, has experienced an increase in gun violence in recent years. The number of homicides increased from 25 in 2019 to 47 in 2023. Similarly, the number of nonfatal shootings increased from 65 in 2019 to 82 in 2021 and 88 in 2022 before dropping back down to 68 in 2023. During this time, Newport News Police Department (NNPD) cleared 62% of their homicides and 38% of their nonfatal shootings, on average, which was an improvement from prior years. NNPD participated in the National Case Closed Project to identify ways to improve these clearance rates in the face of rising rates of violent crime.
NNPD is divided into three major bureaus: the Patrol Bureau, the Administrative Services Bureau, and the Investigations Bureau. Within the Investigations Bureau, homicides are investigated by 10 detectives in NNPD's Homicide Unit and nonfatal shootings are investigated by 7 detectives in the Aggravated Assault Unit. In 2023, NNPD completed the voluntary accreditation process with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.
NNPD has a strong Forensic Services Unit and Technical Investigations Unit to process physical and digital evidence, which are supported by the Virginia Department of Forensic Science's crime lab. The Forensic Services Unit has a National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) terminal and employs a NIBIN technician. In addition to these resources, NNPD benefits from good working relationships with external partners that support their response to shootings, including the Newport News Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, and the Newport News Public School System.
An RTI-led team comprising criminal investigators, forensic scientists, researchers, attorneys, and victim services experts assessed NNPD's policies and practices related to their response to fatal and nonfatal shootings. The assessment included a review of NNPD policies, a review and analysis of fatal and nonfatal shooting case files, and personnel interviews within NNPD and among external partners.
Overall, the NCCP assessment of NNPD's response to fatal and nonfatal shootings revealed that NNPD is engaging in many effective practices for investigating fatal and nonfatal shootings. The department has detailed and comprehensive policies, manageable caseloads and effective supervisors in the Homicide and Aggravated Assault Units, well-trained personnel, and strong coordination and information sharing between investigative and support units. The NCCP offered several recommendations for areas to improve NNPD's response to shootings, including in case file documentation, formal information sharing protocols, victim advocacy, and community engagement. The NCCP team will work with NNPD to determine which recommendations the agency can address and will support the agency in implementing and evaluating changes to how they respond to fatal and nonfatal shootings.
*To learn more about Newport News Police Department's Assessment, please contact caseclosed@rti.org.
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