Richmond violent crime up 7 percent in 2024, property crime down 3 percent
Violent crime in Richmond increased last year while property crime decreased over the previous year, according to a year-end report from the Richmond Police Department.
According to the report by Richmond Police Chief Bisa French, violent crime rose 7 percent from 1,347 in 2023 to 1,446 in 2024. More than just numbers, there were three more homicides, four more sexual assaults, 36 more robberies, and 56 additional aggravated assaults in Richmond last year.
“In 2024, there were 11 homicides,” French said. “This is three more homicides than we had in 2023 but still one of the lowest numbers on record. Of the 11 homicides, all but three have been solved. We continue to investigate and follow leads in the three open cases.”
Richmond also experienced 11 homicides a decade ago in 2014.
The open homicide cases from 2024 include a double fatal shooting on Pennsylvania Avenue at 4:15 p.m. on June 18 and a separate fatal shooting in the 1300 block of Kelsey Street at 12:42 a.m. on June 19, according to authorities.
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Assistant Police Chief Tim Simmons said Flock cameras have been crucial in solving several homicide cases. The Richmond City Council recently approved a $1 million amendment to a contract with Flock Safety to expand the use of automated license plate readers and pan-tilt-zoom cameras.
“A key portion of being able to solve those homicides, close them, and hold somebody accountable — has been the evidence that we were able to retrieve from the vehicles that were used in those homicides, through the camera,” Simmons said at the council meeting.
Soren Hemmila
Overall, property crime fell by 111 or 3 percent compared to 2023, with 40 fewer burglaries and 119 fewer vehicle thefts. However, thefts increased by 45 incidents. Police also noted the decline in vehicle thefts, crediting the use of Flock security cameras in aiding faster recoveries.
In 2024, the department recorded 28,193 reports, with 2,084 arrests — including 1,103 for felonies and 955 for misdemeanors. Officers also recovered 258 firearms and conducted nine human trafficking operations.
The department also investigated 46 assaults involving firearms and responded to 11 fatal collisions that resulted in 12 deaths.
Richmond’s emergency dispatch center received 236,161 calls last year, including 86,889 through 911. The city’s fire department responded to 19,230 incidents, with 13,599 involving emergency medical dispatching.
Arsons in the city
District 4 Councilmember Soheila Bana expressed concern about the number of arsons in the city and pulled the agenda item off the consent calendar, seeking more information on the topic.
“There are so many arsons in the city, and it seems like every year we have around 30 arsons,” Bana said.
Simmons said arson is often considered a crime of opportunity, making it difficult to prevent before it occurs. One common example involves individuals attempting to defraud lenders by intentionally setting fire to their vehicles to file an insurance claim.
Arson cases range from clear-cut incidents caught on camera to complex investigations requiring fire department expertise.
“We had a situation not that long ago where a Ring camera from a neighbor across the street actually filmed somebody lighting a Molotov cocktail on a sidewalk and throwing the Molotov cocktail at somebody’s home,” Simmons said. “That was an easy situation for the officer to review the video and go, that’s arson.”
Simmons said police identified nine suspects charged under California Penal Code 451 for arson.
“They found the evidence was there, they met the criteria for that, and then those were charged with the district attorney’s office,” Simmons said.
Police staffing
Staffing remains a key concern for the police department, though there was a net gain in personnel. The report highlighted the hiring of 21 police officers and 13 professional staff members in 2024, offset by the departure of 13 officers and 12 civilian employees.
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Simmons said staffing is not just a Richmond, Bay Area, or California issue.
“I want to be clear that this is an issue that’s happening nationwide with law enforcement in general. We have been dealing with it maybe a bit longer than some other jurisdictions,” Simmons said. “We’re going on three years of mandatory overtime to maintain minimum staffing and patrol.”
In the last 12 months, Bay Area police agencies have bolstered their recruiting attempts and are competing for the same pool of candidates.
“We’re all competing for the same smaller group of people that are very interested in this career, and there’s a lot of competition in that regard, from a contractual standpoint,” Simmons said.
NIBRS concerns
The council also discussed the new crime reporting system, which, despite initial concerns, has not inflated crime numbers. The Richmond Police Department began using the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) in 2023 to collect crime data for its monthly crime statistics reports. NIBRS replaced the Summary Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) method.
The new crime reporting system implemented a couple of years ago has changed how crimes are categorized and reported, but the data is consistent year-over-year.
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