What is the crime rate in Portsmouth, VA?

In 2025, the Portsmouth Police Department reported 746 violent crimes and 3,145 property crimes to the FBI.

That is 774 violent and 3,264 property crimes per 100,000 of the 96,362 residents it serves.

Across Virginia the rates were 211 and 1,395.

Nationally they were 330 and 1,552.

Figures last updated on November 12, 2026.

Violent per 100,000: 774
Property per 100,000: 3,264
Violent crimes: 746
Property crimes: 3,145

Crime reported by the Portsmouth Police Department, 2023 to 2025

Offenses known to law enforcement, reported to the FBI; rates per 100,000 residents of the area the department serves
Year	Violent crimes	Violent per 100,000	Property crimes	Property per 100,000	Residents served
2023	805	833	4,543	4,701	96,649
2024	731	752	3,780	3,891	97,156
2025	746	774	3,145	3,264	96,362

Violent crimes reported went from 805 in 2023 to 746 in 2025.

Property crimes reported went from 4,543 in 2023 to 3,145 in 2025.

In a small town a handful of incidents moves these numbers a long way, so one year’s change says little on its own.

Portsmouth against Virginia and the nation

Crimes per 100,000 residents, 2025
	Violent crime	Property crime
Portsmouth	774	3,264
Portsmouth city	774	3,264
Virginia	211	1,395
United States	330	1,552

These are rates per resident; they are not adjusted for visitors, commuters or the size of the area, which raise or lower a town’s figures without changing anybody’s risk.

Crime reported in places near Portsmouth, 2025

Each place’s own police department; rates per 100,000 residents served
Place	Distance	Violent per 100,000	Property per 100,000
Portsmouth	—	774	3,264
Norfolk	7.6 mi	399	3,191
Chesapeake	13 mi	320	1,480
Hampton	13 mi	277	2,878
Smithfield	16 mi	284	885
Newport News	18 mi	794	2,282
Poquoson	19 mi	270	909
Virginia Beach	19 mi	101	1,486
Suffolk	19 mi	365	1,252

Neighboring departments count the same offenses the same way, but their areas, populations and visitors differ, so a difference between two towns is a starting point for a question, not an answer.

How to read these numbers

These are offenses known to the police and reported to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program: crimes nobody reported, or that a department did not record, are not in them.

Violent crime is murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault; property crime is burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson.

A department reports the crimes in the area it polices, which can differ from the town’s boundaries, and the FBI estimates the population it serves.

The FBI asks that these figures not be used to rank places or to judge how safe a neighborhood is: crime depends on many local factors, and the counts describe a whole town, not any street or home.

A year is shown only when the department reported all twelve months.

FBI: Uniform Crime Reporting statistics and their proper use

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