The city of Asheville, North Carolina, has launched a new anti-crime initiative to reverse the crime spike experienced after multiyear efforts to “reimagine public safety” and reduce funds for the police.
Violent crime in the city spiked in 2022, with the community suffering a 17.4% increase in violent crime over the previous year, including a 21.8% uptick in aggravated assaults and a 20% rise in armed robberies.
Based on an analysis comparing the city to the rest of the country, Neighborhood Scout determined that “Asheville has one of the highest crime rates in America compared to all communities of all sizes — from the smallest towns to the very largest cities.”
“One’s chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime here is one in 16,” the organization suggested.
When announcing the new initiative, the city explained, “Due to a number of incidents impacting public safety, the City of Asheville is taking targeted steps to address the rise of crime especially in downtown Asheville.”
“There are complex circumstances contributing to the safety issues that Asheville is currently seeing downtown, and it will take a community response to address these complexities. In response, the city is rolling out a 60-day initiative to address safety downtown starting May 1, 2023,” the statement continued.
The initiative will include “increased law enforcement presence by utilizing foot, bike, and vehicle patrols as well as enhanced security in downtown parks.”
Asheville also encouraged citizens to report crimes and “non-emergency public safety concerns.”
Asheville City Manager Debra Campbell explained, “During this 60-day period, City staff will be tracking and testing actions we hope will make for a safer downtown.”
Police Chief David Zack added that “our efforts in downtown should in no way suggest that we aren’t focused on safety across the entire community. This intensive effort is driven by data that suggests a disturbing trend of increases in both property and violent crime in our downtown.”
This move comes after Asheville strove to “reimagine” public safety in 2020, leading to a 3% reduction in the police budget after initial discussions reportedly considered as much as a 50% cut.
“Following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Black Asheville Demands demanded that the City acknowledge a past and a present that has caused harm to the Black community,” the City explained. “We heard you.”
As part of Asheville’s efforts, the City Council passed a resolution “supporting community reparations for Black Asheville.”
The resolution said that “Black People have been unjustly targeted by law enforcement and criminal justice procedures, incarcerated at disproportionate rates,” and the City Council “apologizes and makes amends for its participation in and sanctioning of the Enslavement of Black People.”
The resolution promised that after input from a community-led reparations commission report, “the resulting budgetary and programmatic priorities may include but not be limited to … closing the gaps in health care, education, employment and pay, neighborhood safety and fairness within criminal justice.”
The move to reduce the police budget led to an exodus of officers, which created manpower issues that continue to hamstring law enforcement efforts.
Despite the reversal from city officials, some residents have continued pleas for defunding law enforcement. In the budget discussion last year, protestors disrupted proceedings chanting, “Defund APD, cops don’t need more money,” per the Asheville Citizen-Times.
A petition to “defund the Asheville Police Department” that claimed “policing is a violent, anti-black, settler institution” garnered over 15,000 signatures.