Hopewell sees drop in property crimes, opioid overdoses

HOPEWELL, Va. (WRIC) -- Hopewell has seen significantly less property crime and fewer opioid overdoses so far in 2025 over 2024, a new crime report shows.

On Tuesday, Oct. 14, the Hopewell Police Department provided a new crime summary to the Hopewell City Council. This summary reflects city crime data from Jan. 1 through Oct. 6.

According to the report, there has been a 31% decrease in property crimes so far in 2025 when compared to this time in 2024. The most substantial drop is in motor vehicle thefts, which decreased from 88 to 28 -- a nearly 70% difference.

Additionally, burglaries are down 22% and larcenies are down 19%, per the report.

Overall violent crime is down, but only slightly. This is because, while forcible rapes are down 40% and aggravated assaults are down 18%, murders and robberies are both up.

It's worth noting that there's been only two additional murders this year over 2024. However, robberies have more than doubled, rising from 4 to 13.

On the whole, all major crime is down 26% this year in Hopewell, per the report.

Additionally, the Hopewell Police Department reports that both fatal and non-fatal suspected opioid overdoses are down in 2025.

Between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31, 3 people have died in Hopewell from suspected opioid overdoses and 30 people have experienced a non-fatal overdose. During that same time period in 2024, 6 people died and 46 people experienced non-fatal overdoses.

You can read the full report by viewing pages 11 through 27 of the Hopewell City Council's Oct. 14 agenda packet, which you can find here.