Thanks, Chief. Good morning, everybody.
Thank you for being here for RPD's third-quarter crime briefing.
Today, Chief Edwards is going to walk through the crime statistics year-to-date through the third quarter. After that, I'll talk about my recent decision not to renew the Flock LPR contract, and then the Chief and I will take questions.
While every life lost to violence is a tragedy, and there's no "good" number that's not zero, the city is making progress in reducing homicides.
Chief Edwards is going to share encouraging news about what's happening in Richmond. We're seeing positive trends in our homicide rates, nonfatal shootings and robberies.
But we have more work to do.
While the Richmond Police Department continues to add new recruits to every academy, the fact is that we're still operating with just over 600 officers, though we have an authorized police force of 755 to serve the city.
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You'll get a more detailed analysis from Chief Edwards, but what he will share with you today is that the City of Richmond is seeing very good progress.
I want to thank Chief Edwards, Deputy Chiefs Collier and El-Amin, and every member of the Richmond Police Department for their efforts, along with our Richmond residents who regularly work with law enforcement to help keep our community safe.
Following Chief Edwards' presentation
Thank you, Chief.
These numbers are notable. We are seeing historic lows in violent crime that we haven't seen in well over a decade. And we're doing it with a police force that, as I mentioned, is running above 600 officers, with an authorized force of 755.
How are we doing it?
We're doing it because of good police work — good, creative, data-driven police work.
We're doing it through growing our relationships with communities. The community policing approach is yielding strong results.
And we're doing it through the use of technology.
That's why we have to be thoughtful about the way technology is integrated into the work.
Recent news has focused on our use of Flock, so I want to touch on the announcement I made over the weekend.
As I shared on Saturday, I made the decision not to renew the city's automatic license plate reader contract with Flock when it expires on June 30.
I know that some people have asked why we're not ending the contract immediately, as Henrico has decided to do.
I can't speak to Henrico and the processes that went into its decision, but what I do know is that its contract was up in the next couple of weeks, and so they had to come to a decision point much sooner than we have to.
We have more time because our Flock contract expires in June. I want to make sure we're using that time to listen well, to make thoughtful, community-informed decisions about the future of the technology in Richmond, and I also want to be clear with the public about what has changed for me.
I have consistently approached this issue through a risk-benefit lens.
I often talk about how, as a public health physician, every one of these decisions is looking at the risks versus the benefits and figuring out how we balance those well and ultimately make sure that we're providing a net benefit to our community.
What we have heard increasingly is both the public safety benefits as well as growing concerns about privacy and potential misuse. We've seen examples around the country.
Both of those points are valid.
The surveillance concerns are valid. We take them seriously.
We also take seriously the responsibility that I have to listen to Richmonders and respond to their concerns.
At the same time, I meet with the chief every week. We're reviewing data together. We're hearing about the challenges the force is facing.
I trust his expertise and his judgment in using the technology responsibly, as well as his commitment to ensuring that the appropriate safeguards are in place and enforced.
Community concerns and next steps
What has changed?
First, there has been a significant expansion of community concern.
Second, the decisions by our regional partners affect how useful the technology can be to us.
We've heard from many residents at City Council meetings, and those voices certainly matter.
But we also need to hear from the people whose lives have been disproportionately impacted by crime and who may not be showing up at those meetings.
RPD and our neighborhood engagement team will be co-leading listening and engagement sessions across the city.
These will be conversations with residents, not media events.
Our goal is to reach voices that we haven't captured in a systematic way.
Ultimately, these will be an opportunity to align our community vision with public safety expertise so that we can come together and work toward our collective goals for public safety across the city.
I also want to clarify that Saturday's decision is specifically about license plate readers, not the gunshot detection technology.
We will make sure that we're asking questions and continuing to listen to residents about both during the next few weeks and months.
We have not made a decision about whether another vendor will replace Flock. That is part of the work ahead and part of the listening work that we are embarking on.
My commitment is to make a thoughtful, well-informed decision that reflects the needs and the concerns of our community.
I am grateful to residents who speak up and who let me know what their concerns are. I expect them to continue doing so.
That is the essence of our democracy.
My commitment in this role is to continue to listen well and to seek out the voices of those who are marginalized and don't always get heard.
We are going to take our time to get this decision right.
Transcribed from Mayor Danny Avula's remarks at RPD's 3rd-quarter crime briefing on October 13, 2026, reviewed and lightly edited for accuracy by a member of the Office of Strategic Communications.
