HAMPTON, Va. — Newly-appointed Hampton Police Chief Jimmie Wideman started as top cop two weeks ago.
His hiring comes after former Chief Mark Talbot took the chief job in Norfolk.
Wideman is a Hampton native who has served on the force from 1994 to 2019 in various roles.
Since 2019, he’s worked as an intelligence analyst for the law enforcement division in the Department of the Air Force.
Now, he's back as Hampton's newest chief.
"It’s good to be home. It’s a pleasure to serve," he said.
Chief Wideman said his overall mission is public service. He said achieving that means making sure Hampton citizens feel safe inside their homes, businesses and on the road.
This year, Hampton has seen its homicide rate climb.
The city has had five more homicides in the first six months of 2023 than in the same period last year, amounting to a 38% increase.
"Criminals interacting with other criminals and they’re armed and they’re violent and subsequent to that, they engage in gunfire and, to their own demise, they die," he said.
Wideman explained most violent crimes are among people who know each other and reaching out to the next generation is a strong way to combat this rising violence.
"There’s just some people you cannot reach," he said. "We believe that the youth are our opportunity to reach out and change the tide. Give them better options. Teach them how to make better decisions."
When it comes to staffing, he said they are allotted to have 315 officers and currently have 274— a difference of 41 officers. Though Wideman said that number fluctuates regularly.
He said in that regard, he values quality over quantity.
"The community has to trust the officers that they have empowered to protect them," Wideman said. "Everyone is not intended to be a law enforcement officer, so it’s our responsibility to make sure we have the best candidate the community has to offer."
He said building a relationship with the community is high on his list of priorities, through things like hosting events around town.
"The members can come see officers not in an official capacity, to understand that we’re, you know, we’re citizens here as well, we’re community members, we have their best interest at heart."
He says in terms of recruiting, they’re looking at people ready to leave the military, and higher education, particularly criminal justice programs.
Wideman said the Hampton Police Division is also planning to create two community response teams to work in different areas.
They will focus on guns, gangs, drugs, violent crime hot spots, and known violent offenders.