THE INDEPENDENT NEWS
COURTHOUSE — City Manager Patrick Duhaney announced on Monday, Sept. 14, that he has selected a Cincinnati law enforcement leader with three decades of experience to become the new Virginia Beach police chief.
The new chief is Paul Neudigate, an assistant chief in Cincinnati, where Duhaney served before recently coming to Virginia Beach. In addition to serving as an assistant chief, Neudigate commands a patrol bureau of 800 officers and professional staff.
Neudigate is scheduled to begin in Virginia Beach on Wednesday, Oct. 14, according to a statement released by the city of Virginia Beach. His selection came following a search in the wake of the retirement of former Virginia Beach Chief Jim Cervera. Interim Police Chief Tony Zucaro has been leading the department since Cervera’s departure.
In a statement, the incoming police chief said he is humbled to join the police department here in Virginia Beach.
“I look forward to joining the dynamic team there,” Neudigate said. “We will build on the legacy and continue to make advancements that will best serve the citizens of this wonderful community.”
Duhaney called Neudigate “a consummate professional” who is experienced, oriented toward the community and possesses a “progressive policing philosophy.”
“Paul emerged as the consensus decision, and I am confident he will serve the VBPD and this community as effectively as he has served Cincinnati,” Duhaney said.
Neudigate has experience in crime fighting strategies that employ intelligence and data, according to the statement. He focused on technology as a tool to keep citizens safe and have helped Cincinnati see declines in shootings and other crimes, according to Virginia Beach’s statement.
Tools include the use of a gunshot detection system called ShotSpotter and another initiative that cut down on gun violence in certain places by focusing upon “specific locations and disrupting environments that foster criminality.”
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