Photo: U.S. Navy photo · Public domainCrime per resident in Portsmouth runs higher than in 96% of U.S. towns
All 5 towns next door with figures record less crime per resident. What’s more, the local count comes to 7.8 violent crimes and 38.9 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people each year, with 3.2 and 22.1 in the rest of Virginia. Its letter for safety is D−, worked out from crimes Portsmouth’s police reported over 2023 to 2025. Per resident, the graded crimes were down 26% from 2023 to 2025.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of VA” is every other Virginia city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Portsmouth
5 of the 5 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 5 Virginia towns on Portsmouth’s borders, 5 have a Safety Grade: Chesapeake (C), Suffolk (C), Hampton (C−), Norfolk (D), Newport News (D). Neighbors ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Portsmouth’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; violent crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Portsmouth property | Rest of Virginia property | Portsmouth violent | Rest of Virginia violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 48.8 | 24.4 | 8.8 | 3.3 |
| 2023 | 45.6 | 23.7 | 8.3 | 3.4 |
| 2024 | 38.6 | 22.7 | 7.5 | 3.1 |
| 2025 | 32.3 | 19.8 | 7.6 | 3.0 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Virginia.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Portsmouth | Rest of Virginia | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 8.8 | 3.3 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 8.3 | 3.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 7.5 | 3.1 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 7.6 | 3.0 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Portsmouth’s police reported 2,265 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 7.8 per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.2 in the rest of Virginia and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Portsmouth per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And about 8 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
3,846 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
736 violent and 3,110 property, as reported to the FBI by Portsmouth’s police.
45 people died in crashes on Portsmouth’s roads in 2019–2023
Portsmouth had 42 fatal crashes in five years, in which 45 people died; 9 were pedestrians and 1 was a cyclist. 11 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 9.3 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Virginia towns of 25,000–100,000 people (3.9, 38 towns).
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Portsmouth and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth | D− | 7.8 | 38.9 |
| Chesapeake | C | 3.6 | 16.8 |
| Suffolk | C | 4.2 | 14.8 |
| Norfolk | D | 4.7 | 35.8 |
| Hampton | C− | 2.7 | 29.1 |
| Newport News | D | 8.0 | 24.0 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Virginia towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth | D− | 7.8 | 38.9 |
| Harrisonburg | C | 2.3 | 16.9 |
| Leesburg | C | 2.5 | 16.0 |
| Alexandria | C | 1.9 | 22.3 |
| Lynchburg | C | 3.5 | 17.9 |
| Roanoke | D | 5.8 | 38.2 |
The five graded Virginia towns closest to Portsmouth’s population (96,777), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Portsmouth. A citywide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of the city to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Portsmouth’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (96,362 in 2025); our figure for Portsmouth is 96,777 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Portsmouth
Is Portsmouth, VA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Portsmouth reports more crime per resident than 96% of U.S. towns, a D− Safety Grade. Its police reported 7.8 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 3.2 in the rest of Virginia and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Portsmouth?
7.8 violent and 38.9 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Virginia reports 3.2 and 22.1; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Portsmouth in 2025?
Portsmouth’s police reported 19 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 19.7 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Portsmouth safer than Chesapeake?
Chesapeake reports less crime per resident than Portsmouth: Chesapeake grades C for safety and Portsmouth D−. Chesapeake’s police reported 3.6 violent and 16.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Portsmouth?
Portsmouth’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Portsmouth”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in Portsmouth.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.