From Staff Reports

The Asheville Police Department — experiencing an increasingly severe staffing crisis — announced on June 2 a number of changes in officer response, going into effect immediately, “in order to improve response times for emergency calls made to 911.” 

As for staffing, the APD has lost 84 sworn officers since Jan. 1, 2021, with recruitment of new officers amid a “defund the police” atmosphere in Asheville proving to be highly challenging.

As for the service cutbacks, APD officers will no longer respond to the following types of crimes:

▪️ 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

▪️ Noise complaints made during normal business hours and after-hours may have a significant delay in response.

“Victims of these crimes can use the Police to Citizen online reporting tool to file a police report,” the APD noted in a press release. “Individuals who do not have access to online reporting can call (828) 252-1110 to have an officer respond when they are available. This may result in a significant delay in response.”

The Daily Planet on June 7 sent Christina Halsey, the APD’s  public information officer, an email with a list of several questions about the cutbacks in responding to crime calls and whether the future looks even worse, as a glut of resignatons are expected in the near future.

Ironically, on June 8 the newspaper received a response from Halingse, apologizing for the APD’s failure to respond to the questions on the Daily Planet’s June 9 press deadline, because of “everything I have going on today” — a veritable crime wave.

On June 3, Asheville television station WLOS (News 13) was able to ask questions of APD Chief David Zack, quoting him as saying the following about the APD’s crime response changes:

“There’s no quick fix. There’s no magic wand, There’s no magic pill that’s going to change this overnight.”

News 13 added, “For the foreseeable future, the department will not respond to low-level crimes in order to prioritize violent crime. The decision comes amid a drastic drop in the police force.”

Further, the TV station reported, “Zack said there will also be a decreased presence of patrols in downtown Asheville.”

The police chief then was quoted by News 13 as saying, “A big part of crime prevention is officer presence and knowing that officers are actively working the area. Now, we’re still there, but we’re just not as visible as we used to be. You know, we’re looking at how that’s affecting crime.”

Meanwhile, the city manager’s office issued the following statement on the afternoon of June 3:

Statement by Asheville City — Manager Debra Campbell 

“The City of Asheville remains committed to the safety of our community, but by necessity we have to prioritize response to the highest levels of crime at this time, due to staffing shortages at the Asheville Police Department. 

“This was outlined in an announcement by APD on Wednesday that included a list of calls that APD will no longer be responding to, such as trespassing where the property owner does not want to press charges or a theft from a vehicle where there is no suspect information. The APD lobby is also closed to the public at this time.

“We recognize these are pain points for our community as we work through reimagining public safety for all of Asheville.

“Let me be clear that I support our police officers and respect the work that they do. I ask our community to do the same. As a community, we are in the process of reimagining what public safety services need to be done directly by the police department. As we work toward reimagining public safety, the goal is to innovate by deploying APD’s resources toward more serious crime and investigation, while assigning lower-level issues to other departments, some of them perhaps to be named or formed with partner agencies.

“In the meantime, we need to uphold the law, respect the officers on our Asheville Police force, and understand that they have to prioritize response to crime with a reduction in their staff at this time and as we shift responsibilities to other departments and/or agencies.”