Editor, Gazette-Journal: The Virginia State Police recently released their 2020-2025 report on crime, and the good news is that overall, crime continues to drop in Virginia! The bad news is that Gloucester and Mathews are higher in Drug Crimes, Rape Crimes, and Pornography/Obscenity Crimes. In 2025, Virginia overall was down 6.07 percent in Drug Crimes, but Gloucester County was up 6.45 percent and Mathews County was up a whopping 313.33 percent! Gloucester County did not fare much better in Pornography/Obscenity Crimes, up 66.67 percent. Gloucester County was also up 15.54 percent in Rapes, compared to Virginia down 15.54 percent in Rapes. Incidentally, York County was up 26.77 percent in Drug Crimes, and James City County likewise was up 21.77 percent in Drug Crimes. Chesterfield County (part of which is in Virginia’s First District) was up in Murders by 33.33 percent (as compared to Virginia down in Murders by 12.59 percent)! All five counties share one big common denominator: they ...