FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 22, 2025

City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County, and the University of Virginia Discuss Project Safe Neighborhoods to Address Public Safety Concerns

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA –  The City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County, and the University of Virginia today announced a new regional partnership focused on working together to make local communities safer by working with Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). 

PSN is a nationwide designation granted by the U.S. Department of Justice. It brings together federal, state, and regional law enforcement officials, prosecutors, community-based partners, and other stakeholders to identify the community's most pressing violent crime problems and develop comprehensive solutions.

Today’s announcement is a key recommendation of the Community Safety Working Group, a regional group convened as part of the President's Council on UVA-Community Partnerships. 

Successful PSN implementation relies on four pillars to reduce violent crime. They are 1) community engagement, 2) prevention and intervention, 3) focused and strategic enforcement, and 4) accountability and evaluation. The City, County, and University have been working together to engage community advocates and organizations as they co-create a plan for how the designation can best be leveraged in the Charlottesville/Albemarle region. 

“This collaborative effort with our City, County and community partners has been long in the making,” UVA Police Chief Tim Longo said. “I’m encouraged to know that our shared goal of improving safety and offering solutions to get ahead of, and reduce, violence in the area is emerging as a Project Safe Neighborhoods partnership. We know there are numerous circumstances that can lead to violence, and this effort will help us learn more and offer resources before situations lead to injury or loss due to violence.”

One of the steps towards improved community safety is the implementation of call-in meetings, which bridges the gap between the community engagement and intervention pillars. The Community Safety Implementation Group, established after the working group released its report in 2023, invited local violence prevention organizations to provide feedback that helped mold the call-in meeting procedure. Each group in attendance agreed that call-in meetings in Charlottesville and Albemarle County convey a unified message: violence harms everyone, but change is possible through community support and resources. 

During each call-in meeting, PSN partners, including law enforcement and community organizations, will provide individuals identified in proximity to violent crime with access to tailored resources offered by social service providers, including housing, employment, healthcare, and parenting support. Meeting invitations highlight voluntary participation and avoid punitive language, centering instead on the availability of help. Structured to prioritize care, the meetings open with encouraging messages from community members and include brief input from law enforcement, emphasizing support over enforcement. 

"This program represents our unwavering commitment to addressing violence by identifying those individuals who continue to prey on our community,” City of Charlottesville Chief of Police Michael Kochis said. “We will continue to work with our local, state, and federal partners to reduce violent crime, protect our most vulnerable people, and build trust between law enforcement and the communities we serve. Our communities who continue to be disproportionately affected by violent crime deserve nothing less."

Those interested in learning more about PSN and the call-in meetings are invited to a community dialogue event at Jackson P. Burley Middle School at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

“Through Project Safe Neighborhoods, we are not only strengthening partnerships across jurisdictions but also fostering deeper engagement with the community,” Albemarle County Chief of Police Sean Reeves said. “Addressing these public safety challenges requires more than just enforcement—it takes open conversations and strong community relationships. I look forward to engaging directly with those we serve during the upcoming community dialogue event as we work together to foster safer, stronger neighborhoods.”

For further information on Project Safe Neighborhoods’ community safety efforts, please contact:

Afton Schneider, City of Charlottesville, schneidera@charlottesville.gov
Abbey Stumpf, Albemarle County, astumpf@albemarle.org
Bethanie Glover, University of Virginia, bglover@virginia.edu

Media Contact
Afton Schneider
Director of Communications & Public Engagement
City of Charlottesville
434-996-0331
schneidera@charlottesville.gov