Downtown Safety Initiative: APD reports an increase in both violent and property crime
ASHEVILLE - In the most recent update on the city's Downtown Safety Initiative, a program piloted in May and June, the city reiterated that the work of the initiative would continue past its first 60 days, including a "proactive" increased police presence downtown, a new community responder program led by the Asheville Fire Department and a slate of cleanliness and security efforts.
While community surveys taken in the midst of the pilot indicate a modest increase in feelings of safety during the day — from 34% to 45%, according to a survey of about 200 business owners and employees who have led the cry about an "unsafe" downtown — Asheville Police Department Deputy Chief Mike Lamb said July 14 the city saw an increase in both violent and property crime during the initiative.
In explanation, he pointed to the increase in "officer initiated calls for service," which significantly spiked after the initiative began, indicative, he said, of a more proactive police presence.
“This is crime that more than likely has been happening there, but because of reduced officer presence, it’s oftentimes not reported or now there’s no witnesses, so this is a result of officer witnessing crimes in progress," Lamb said.
Asheville police have struggled with understaffing for years. The department has reported understaffing at about 40% over the last few months of the 238 sworn officer positions at the department. A central tenant of the initiative was a "very visible" police presence downtown through bike, foot and vehicle patrols.
It's because of this increase in police presence, Lamb said, that officers are seeing and recording more property and violent crime.
The data presented, which logged "incidents" across May and June, compared against the same window in 2022, found that violent crime (homicide, rape, aggravated assault and robbery) increased 100%, or from 7 incidents to 14, and property crime (arson, burglary, larceny-theft and motor vehicle theft) increased 33%, from 54 to 72.
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What services will continue?
The July 14 update was presented to the city's Downtown Commission, a group of private sector business owners, Asheville Downtown Association reps, a sitting City Council member and more, members of which were vocal in support of the program and its continuance.
The initiative came amid an escalating conversation around downtown safety, driven by business owners, residents, various downtown-oriented organizations, news outlets and the council itself.
“We all want what’s best for the people that are suffering from these incidents, but also for the safety of our community," council member Sage Turner, who sits on the commission, said at the meeting. She noted some downtown businesses have been in operation for generations.
"It's hard to watch this chapter," she said of downtown. "I see it getting better, but it's been rough."
Assistant City Manager Rachel Wood said safety and cleanliness downtown will continue to be prioritized and staff will continue to assess resource needs and partnership opportunities in coming months. She said feedback from the community has been "generally positive" and stressed the improved interdepartmental dynamics at play during the initiative, between departments like fire, police, parks and recreation, public works and the city manager's office.
On-going services encompassed by the initiative that are slated to continue include:
APD proactive presence.
Extension of the Community Responder Program, downtown and citywide.
Prioritization of lighting improvements with weekly monitoring and improved systems for tracking.
Enhanced city parking garage safety, including monthly pressure washing and increased patrols, security service and cameras.
Proactive noise and zoning enforcement.
Commitment to addressing homelessness.
Enhanced downtown cleanliness (seven day-a-week trash collection, biohazard/hot spot cleaning contract, nine staff dedicated to cleanliness, other contracted services).
Management and security in parks.
Improved coordination and follow-up, which includes a new city staff position of a constituent service coordinator to provide improved response to community requests, including coordination of interdepartmental resources and communication.
Dana Frankel, the city's downtown planning manager, said while some services will be adjusted, none of the program's offers have stopped after the first 60 days.
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'This is a fight'
The bulk of public comment was supportive of the initiative, and speakers said they've noticed a change in perceived crime downtown, advocating for an even stronger police presence and, in the case of Honor Moor, founder and co-chair of Asheville Coalition for Public Safety, higher starting salaries for Asheville officers.
Starting basic salary for police officer trainees in Asheville is $42,548. Upon completion of the academy and obtaining certification from the state, their salary will increase to $45,856. In the city's 2024 fiscal year budget, City Council approved a pay bump for all employees, the biggest for the police department, which will receive a 6% salary increase.
“One of the best ways we can curb crime downtown is having a police presence, it’s plain and simple," Moor said.
But those comments also lingered on issues of homelessness, specifically decrying the presence of people outside of AHOPE, Homeward Bound's day center on the edge of downtown on North Ann Street.
According to Asheville's most recent point-in-time count, conducted in January, there are 573 people experiencing homelessness in Asheville and Buncombe County, down from 637 in 2022. Of those currently homeless, 171 are unsheltered, which is also down from last year's numbers of 232, but still higher than pre-pandemic counts.
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Jan Davis, a former City Council member, and owner of Jan Davis Tire Store on Patton Avenue, which neighbors AHOPE, said the shelter makes it "objectionable" for people who visit and work there, citing drug use and people loitering on the street.
These comments were directly addressed by Marcus Laws, homeless services director at Homeward Bound, who oversees AHOPE and also spoke at the meeting. Laws said they do not condone any of those behaviors, and that he and his staff actively spend their days picking up trash, asking people to leave and cracking down on substance use in facilities.
He said many of the people seen on the sidewalks are those barred from services at the day center "for the exact same reasons that have been expressed."
“The main difference I would say for me when it comes to this issue, is I don’t have the ability to shy away from it, I tend to wade into it," Laws said.
“It does make it dangerous for me, it does make it dangerous for my staff. So I’m not going to sit here and say there’s not a situation and it’s not an issue. There very much is one. It’s one I believe that unless we do this work as a community then it won’t get done, and we will continue to have these issues. I don’t think we can sit back and put the responsibility to a few people.”
Laws is a member of the city's Homeless Initiative Advisory Committee, the governing body for Asheville and Buncombe County's Continuum of Care, and said they are actively working toward solutions and more targeted interventions for the city's unhoused population.
“I do understand that this is a fight, and I will fight for this community, but I will fight for my team as well,” Laws said.
Learn more about area efforts to address homelessness at the July 27 meeting of the Homeless Initiative Advisory Committee, which typically meets at 9 a.m. in City Hall, where members will offer updates on ongoing efforts around January recommendations from the National Alliance to End Homelessness, with a goal of decreasing its unsheltered homelessness number by half.
Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email [email protected] or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: APD reports an increase in both violent and property crime
