The Portsmouth police chief is Colonel Stephen Jenkins, who leads the Portsmouth Police Department in Virginia and serves as the city’s chief law enforcement officer for a population of roughly 97,000. Jenkins was promoted from interim chief to the permanent role after more than two decades inside the department, and he reports directly to the City Manager under the city charter.
Stephen Jenkins’s Background
Jenkins has worked in law enforcement since 1997 and joined the Portsmouth Police Department in 2003. He moved through patrol, then into professional standards as a detective, then to sergeant assignments in uniform patrol, property crimes, and major crimes and homicide. As a lieutenant, he ran the professional standards unit, the training division, and the special investigation division, which covers vice and narcotics, fugitive apprehension, and gang intelligence.1Portsmouth, VA – Official Website. Chief of Police
He first held the top job on an interim basis before the previous City Manager hired him permanently. His rank is Colonel, which reflects the paramilitary rank structure Virginia police agencies typically use.
How the Chief Is Appointed
Virginia law requires any locality with a police department to have a chief, and that chief is the locality’s chief law enforcement officer.2Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 15.2-1701 – Organization of Police Forces In Portsmouth, Section 5.02 of the city charter gives the City Manager the power to appoint all department heads, supervise their work, and discipline or remove them. Department heads serve at the Manager’s pleasure, so the chief can be replaced without a for-cause proceeding.3Virginia Code Commission. Charter – Portsmouth The current City Manager is Angel Jones.
The City Council does not pick the chief or run the department day to day. Council influence runs through the budget and through public hearings where members can question priorities and spending.
What the Chief Does
The job splits into two halves: setting department-wide policy and representing the agency publicly during significant events. On the policy side, the chief sets the rules governing use-of-force, evidence handling, body-worn cameras, and community interaction standards, and those rules bind every sworn officer and civilian employee. The chief personally authorizes any release of recorded media such as body camera footage, which is department property and cannot be edited, copied, shared, or distributed without written approval.4Portsmouth Police Department. Body Worn Camera/Mobile Video Recorder
State law adds specific reporting duties. The chief must forward data on investigatory traffic stops, stop-and-frisks, and other investigatory detentions to the Virginia State Police for the Community Policing Reporting Database, and the same data must appear on a publicly accessible department website. These requirements exist to show residents and legislators how police interactions break down across the community.
The chief also develops the department’s annual budget with the City Manager’s office, covering salaries, vehicles, technology, and training. Final figures move through the city’s broader budget cycle.
Under Jenkins, the department has pushed data-driven tools out to the public. A Crime and Gun Violence Dashboard tracks violent crime trends by neighborhood and patrol zone, and a Surveillance Camera Mapping Program lets residents and business owners voluntarily register private security cameras so investigators can quickly identify relevant footage after a nearby crime. A Crime Analysis Unit watches monthly trends across neighborhoods, patrol zones, and police service areas and feeds that work into deployment decisions.5Portsmouth, VA – Official Website. Crime
Who Reports to the Chief
Assistant Chief Na’Shayla Nelson sits directly under Jenkins and handles day-to-day operational oversight.6Portsmouth, VA – Official Website. Leadership Below her, majors and captains run the bureaus that cover patrol, investigations, and administrative services. Internal affairs typically reports directly to the chief rather than through the normal chain, which keeps misconduct investigations separate from the officers being investigated.
Contacting the Chief’s Department
The department’s main office is at 700 Port Centre Parkway, Portsmouth, VA 23704. The general line is 757-393-8257, and uniform patrol can be reached at 757-393-8962. Call 911 for emergencies; Portsmouth also supports Text-to-911 when a voice call is not safe or practical, though the department notes a voice call is preferable when possible.5Portsmouth, VA – Official Website. Crime
For police reports, body camera footage, or other records, residents can file a request under Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act through the city’s online portal at portsmouthva.justfoia.com or by email to foiarequest@portsmouthva.gov.7Portsmouth, VA – Official Website. Freedom of Information Act Agencies must respond within five business days under state law, though a brief extension is allowed when a request requires significant search effort. Footage tied to an active criminal investigation or involving privacy-sensitive situations may be withheld or redacted, and the chief’s office controls which recordings go out, so partial denials are possible on open cases.