Police officers around the country are feeling the heat. The scrutiny is prominent in one North Carolina city where morale has taken a serious hit.
The Asheville Police Department announced it would be making some major changes to what officers will be able to respond to amid a “staffing crisis.”
Officials said in a statement, starting immediately, it will no longer respond to certain crimes after the department had lost 84 officers since the beginning of 2020 leaving only 11 detectives that’s less than half the staffing the department once had.
But who was to blame?
According to Fox News sources, multiple local law enforcement sources who spoke with the outlet laid partial blame for the deteriorating condition of a North Carolina tourist town on the city’s liberal political leadership and on left-wing activists who undermine the police.
“I think what you’re seeing in Asheville right now is a culmination of the last several years of pulling police back and not letting them do their jobs like they’re able to do,” former Buncombe County Sheriff Van Duncan told Fox News Digital in a phone interview.
Asheville Police Chief David Zack said in an interview:
“Our detective unit right now is completely gassed out with the volume of serious investigations that they have to address. And we will have to triage those. Those officers are having to work extremely long hours.”
So in order to “improve response times for emergency calls” made to the department, it will no longer be responding to the following types of crime:
- Theft under $1,000 where there is no suspect information (this does not include stolen vehicles or guns)
- Theft from a vehicle where there is no suspect information
- Minimal damage and/or graffiti to property where there is no suspect information
- Non-life threatening harassing phone calls (does not include incidents that are related to domestic violence and/or stalking)
- Fraud, scams, or identity theft
- Simple assaults that are reported after they have occurred
- Reports that do not require immediate police actions and/or enforcement (information only reports)
- Funeral escorts
- Lost/found property
- Trespassing where the property owner does not want to press charges
Instead, victims of those crimes are asked to use the Police to Citizen online reporting tool to file a report. Those who do not have access to the internet can call (828) 252-1110 to have an officer respond when they are available. The alternative route of reporting may still result in a “significant delay in response.”
Asheville, a city of approximately 90,000 people nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Buncombe County, North Carolina, has seen a 31% surge in violent crime per 100,000 people from 2016 to 2020, according to statistics released in the spring.
Asheville’s growth in violent crime is nearly double that of the national average and ranks among the highest in North Carolina, where violent crime has increased by 13% statewide.
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