General Information

Public Safety and Health

Commonwealth's Attorney's Office

The Commonwealth's Attorney's Office prosecutes criminal cases daily in the Circuit, General District and Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts in the City of Portsmouth. This office tries an average of 12,000 cases annually.

The office employs 40, which includes attorneys, administrative, victim/witness and clerical staff. The office is organized into seven teams:

• The Executive/Administrative Team
• The General Prosecution Teams (2)
• The Drug Team
• The Juvenile and Domestic Relations Team
• The Victim/Witness Program Team

This office administers two programs. The Victim/Witness Assistance Program provides comprehensive information and direct services to crime victims and witnesses in accordance with the Crime Victim and Witness Rights Act. The STEP Program, under the Violence Against Women Act, which provides victim advocacy and support, community outreach, and law enforcement training to increase in the successful prosecution of cases of violence against women.

Police

The Police Department serves to protect the lives and property of the citizens, business owners, and visitors of the City. In this capacity, its responsibility is to prevent and detect criminal activity, enforce the laws of the Commonwealth and the City, arrest violators of those laws, maintain public order, and ensure the safe and effective flow of traffic throughout our streets. The Police Department also operates the emergency communications center, which dispatches all police, fire and ambulance units on a 24-hour basis. An enhanced 911 emergency telephone system serves the entire City. The Police Department consists of 93 officers assigned to uniformed patrol and who work within three separate platoons, nine sergeants, four lieutenants, and one captain handles the command control and supervision of tasks that arise within the three platoons, 3 animal control officers, and a total of 101 security guards, communications dispatchers, administrative, clerical and support personnel.

The Police Department has implemented community policing programs which include initiatives such as: Neighborhood Enforcement Action Teams (NEAT) throughout the neighborhoods in Portsmouth and the School Liaison Officer program which assigns police officers to specific schools in order to; (1) provide a positive role model for the students, (2) build strong working relationships with the faculty and administration, and (3) investigate criminal activity occurring on school grounds.

Sheriff's Office

The Sheriff's Office provides court security, inmate transportation, and the maintenance of civil processes, ceremonial escorts, criminal warrants and investigations of at large fugitives for the City of Portsmouth Special units include the motorcycle patrol, boat patrol, mounted patrol and honor guard. Portsmouth's deputies vow to serve and protect the City's citizens with compassionate understanding, unquestioned integrity, total dedication and genuine pride in their community and in themselves.

The Sheriff's Office has several programs to ensure the safety of the children of Portsmouth. The D.A.R.E. Program is provided to keep children informed of the problems related to drug use. Deputies teach children in elementary and middle schools how to react when placed in a compromising situation. IDENT-A-KID is a Sheriff's Office sponsored program to photograph and fingerprint kids as a safeguard against abduction and to assist local law enforcement agencies in cases of runaways.

Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services

The Fire Department is responsible for providing fire, rescue, and emergency services. Since 1830, it has been a leader in modern fire suppression techniques, fire prevention, and education. There are currently nine fire stations located strategically throughout the city. The doors of our stations never close, they operate around the clock 365 days a year. Our highly trained and dedicated professional firefighters and paramedics are able to deliver fire protection or advanced medical care to the scene of an emergency in most cases within five minutes of being dispatched. A leader in the field, the Department offers one of the most comprehensive programs for advanced medical care in Hampton Roads. Also, the Department is the lead team for the Southside Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team.

Public Health

The Public Health Department focuses on promoting healthy people in the City of Portsmouth. Those with important roles to play, not only involve the public health representatives, but also a broad range of individuals from within the community. Working together, they can prevent epidemics and the spread of disease, protect against environmental hazards, prevent injuries, promote and encourage healthy behaviors and mental health, respond to disasters and assist the community in recovery, and assure the quality and accessibility of health services to all the citizens of Portsmouth.