‘It’s not going to happen overnight’ | Portsmouth’s new police chief shares plan to turn city around

Chief Renado Prince took over the role early in September 2021, after serving as the departments assistant chief.

By Eugene D, WVEC

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Chief Renado Prince stresses change in his city will not happen overnight. 

“This is a slow process,” he said. “It didn’t happen yesterday. This took years.”

It’s something Prince repeated in his office during an exclusive interview with 13NewsNow on Wednesday. 

But when it comes to turning around crime in the city, he’s also quick to say, the community doesn’t have years to get it right. 

Prince officially took over chief duties on September 4, and is the third leader of the department in as many years. He joined the force in 2018, as the assistant chief, after more than 20 years of service in North Carolina. 

Of his goals in his new role, he wants to change the way the department addresses crime. In the past, detectives targeted known trouble areas, but Prince wants more focus on people causing “chaos” in the community.