It sounds bad, but it really isn’t the PD’s fault for refusing to respond to a list of crimes and other calls. Nor is Asheville the only city in the country to do this; not by a long shot. With the current political climate causing officers to leave police forces in droves (according to Greenville’s WYFF4 news, Asheville lost 84 officers since the beginning of 2020) even when there aren’t budget cuts and layoffs, the actual work of policing simply gets stretched too thin.
Due to this “staffing crisis,” the Asheville Police Department will no longer be responding to the following types of calls and crimes:
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- 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
In addition, noise complaints made during normal business hours and after-hours may have a significant delay in response…
I can already feel the “underprivileged” folks benefitting from the lack of policing. Lovely.
