NN police chief meets with businesses

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) - Making Newport News safe for people to live, work, shop and study is part of an on-going effort by the city's police department.

Chief James Fox is keeping the lines of communication open between the department and local businesses. 

Wednesday, Fox hosted more than a dozen representatives.

"We had people from the various hospitals, Virginia Power, the railroad, private businesses and just knowing what their issues are helps us better deploy our resources to reduce crime in the city, " Fox said.

Various detectives from different police units such as cyber crime, pawn and intelligence spoke to the gathering.

Patrick Henry Mall General Manager Robert Orlando attended the session. He told WAVY.com, "knowing it's a team effort between the city folks that are in the city working hard for us and our businesses means so much to us."

The chief also emphasized the importance of businesses having quality surveillance video equipment as another tool of fighting crime.

The group plans to meet again in a few weeks.