 |
| CREDIT: Joe Wolf Greensboro, North Carolina has seen a decrease in firearm-related crimes so far in 2021. Replacing it is an increase in child abuse crime. A 40-minute update on violent crime data presented by the Greensboro Police Department Chief Brian James, states the above among other information. "A lot of cities our size and larger, crime is actually trending up. Right now in some of our assault and firearm-related categories, we are actually trending down compared to last year. As of July 29th, there were 23 murders. In 2020, this time had 32 homicides. There was a complete number of 62 criminal homicides/murders in 2020. The homicide clearance rate was 63%. This was above the national average. One massive and concerning difference between 2020 and 2021, is that there have been 130 child abuse crimes reported so far in 2021. In 2020, there were only 64 child abuse crimes all year. "Domestic abuse overall, as well as child abuse, has been on the rise throughout the country, and we have not been immune to it." "Kids have been at home for the last year, constantly doing remote learning, whereas they would have been at school for the majority of the day. Unfortunately if something bad is going to happen, it's just increased that window of time." Due to a map shown by the Chief, it saw the murders in 2020 were mainly in the northeast, southeast, south, and southwest parts of Greensboro. The trend in 2021 is similar, but with fewer homicides in District 1. Over double the number of firearms has been seized by police this year, compared to the same time last year. 484 firearms were seized in the first six months of 2020, 1.023 were seized in the first six months of 2021. "People always ask me what can we do to help. I believe that crime overall, and in particular violent crime, starts with these things: poverty, education, unemployment, housing, healthcare, mental healthcare, addictions, food insecurity, opportunities for young people. We as a community need to stay focused on these things." Greensboro Police Department is on the way to hiring a full-time crime analyst, that will have specific duties including capturing and comparing photos of spent bullets and cartridges found at crime scenes. They have also added a full-time victims advocate for the homicide squad. Chief Brian James also shared the Greensboro/Guilford County Crime Stoppers data. - "1,507 tips in 2020 that led to 774 charges, 211 cases cleared, and $770, 202 in property recovered." - "2021 year to date: 697 tips received, 274 charges, 47 cases cleared, and $149, 123 in property recovered." The Greensboro Police Department initiative was to get 500 jobs for teenagers. This was successful. 535 teenagers got jobs with over 140 employers. There is even mention of the 'Take Me Home' program. This is where families can register loved ones with special or unique needs. This way if police respond, they will be aware. The Greensboro Police Department has also applied for a grant to get a "real-time crime center" up and running. The Department currently has 691 authorised sworn officers and 45 vacancies. It has been stated they lose around 5 people a month. |
Comments
Post a Comment