Thanks, Chief. Good morning, everybody. 

Thanks 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 remarkable progress in reducing homicides. 

Chief Edwards is going to share some very encouraging news about what's happening in Richmond. We're seeing all the right trends in our homicide rates, nonfatal shootings, and robberies. 

But we have more work to do. 

And while the Richmond Police Department continues to be successful in adding new recruits to every academy, the fact of the matter is that we're still operating with just over 600 officers, though we have an authorized police force of 755 to serve the city. 

You'll get a much more detailed analysis from Chief Edwards, but what he will share with you today is that the City of Richmond is seeing very, very good progress. 

I want to thank Chief Edwards, Deputy Chiefs Collier and El-Amin, and every single member of the Richmond Police Department for their incredible 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 remarkable. 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 wonderful results. 

And we're doing it through (the use of) technology. 

And that's why we have to be really thoughtful along the way about the way technology is integrated into the work. 

Obviously, the news of this past week has been around our use of Flock, so I want to touch on that 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, just like 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 their 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. 

And I need to say that both of those points are valid. 

The surveillance concerns are valid. We take them seriously.  

But 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 single week. We're diving into data together. We're hearing about the challenges the force is facing. 

And I absolutely 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. 

Now, what has changed? 

One, the significant expansion of community concern. 

And two, the decisions by our regional partners that 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 and listening through engagement sessions across the city. 

And these will be conversations with residents, not media events. 

Our goal in those will be reaching voices that we haven't captured in a systematic way. 

And ultimately, these will be an opportunity to align our community vision with public safety expertise so that we can come together and actually achieve 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. 

And we'll make sure that we're asking those questions and continuing to listen to residents about both during these 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, part of the listening work that we are embarking on. 

But my commitment is to make a thoughtful, well-informed decision that reflects the needs and the concerns of our community. 

And I'm always, always, always grateful to residents who speak up, who let me know what their concerns are. I expect them to continue doing so. 

That is the essence of our democracy. 

And my commitment, ultimately, in this role is to continuo to listen well and to seek out the voices of those who are marginalized and don't always get heard. 

And we're 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 by Copilot, reviewed and lightly edited for accuracy by a member of the Office of Strategic Communications