Despite vacancies crime dropped, raising the question: does Asheville need more police?
ASHEVILLE - The city saw a record drop in crime last year, including decreases in violence and property crime, despite a force that is understaffed and in need of more officers to fill vacancies that persist since mass resignations three years ago, according to police.
The city's historic crime reduction came in 2023 after a six-year high in violent crime in 2022 and a 2019 property crime peak, recent Asheville Police Department data shows. The decrease happened while APD endured vacancies of nearly a third of its sworn officer positions. Currently, 27% or 65 of the 238 sworn officer positions are vacant.
In a Jan. 23 presentation to the City Council's Environment and Safety Committee, APD staff said the vacancy rate was 32%. But the department's staffing data transparency dashboard said 27% on Jan. 24, a number department spokesperson Samantha Booth said was the most accurate.
On average 16 officers are patrolling the city at one time. With more staff that would be 24, APD staff said.
Some observers noting the 18% reduction in violent crime and 13% drop in property crime in 2023, questioned the need to fill those positions.
Government transparency activist Patrick Conant said the city needs to look at alternative responses to public safety challenges.
"The city could approach that a number of ways ― by partnering with the County’s Community Paramedicine Program, expanding AFD’s Community Responder program, or by establishing an entirely new department similar to Durham’s HEART program," said Conant, the director of Sunshine Labs, which helps residents make public records requests of police and other government agencies.
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For his part, interim APD Chief Mike Lamb said officers are filling the gaps with overtime, and while attrition is the lowest since large numbers of officers quit and retired in 2021, he is concerned burnout will increase and lead to more vacancies.
"We did an analysis last year based on call volume, and our officers are working 50% more than they were prior to 2020," Lamb told the Citizen Times during a Jan. 24 interview. With resignations down, a nationwide shortage of police means recruiting is now the biggest difficulty in staffing the force.
The Citizen Times asked Booth Jan. 24 for attrition and hiring numbers, which she provided. The APD spokesperson was also asked for overtime costs, which she said she was not able to immediately provide. A message to city Finance Director Tony McDowell asking for how much was saved by not paying salaries for vacant positions was not returned. Not included in those costs would be recruiting and training expenses.
Lamb, a 26-year APD veteran who took the interim spot after the Dec. 15 resignation of Chief David Zack, said additional officers would also mean the restoration of some services curtailed in 2021.
More staff could also mean reinstating dedicated officers for the city's poorest neighborhoods managed by the Asheville Housing Authority. Those are subsidized living units where crime tends to be highest.
"They acted as a mini-community resource officer. They met with the manager. They met with the residents council. They met with the residents. They knew what the issues were. They looked at longer lasting solutions for crimes. We don't have them anymore. We have zero officers in our housing unit right now," Lamb said.
Traffic safety officers could also be added back. That role is now played by patrol officers who are not specifically trained to deal with accidents or vehicle fatalities, of which the city had 19 last year.
And the downtown unit could be reestablished, he said. Coverage of the city center is now given by some Buncombe County sheriff's deputies, but only for eight hours a week.
Conant said in the short-term, he thought it was reasonable for APD to continue to fill vacancies to handle retirements and staff departures.
"However, considering the limited resources and growing needs of our city, we need to start making smarter investments in real solutions," the transparency activist said.
"If our city can reduce the number of calls that require an APD officer to respond, then I can see a future where APD can fulfill their 'reimagined' public safety role with a smaller staff," he said.
But Lamb said it can also mean bringing back "services that we have historically been able to offer to the community," such as sending officers to do reports for minor crimes, something residents are now asked to do themselves online.
"For example, if someone's car is broken into, historically an officer would go out, be able to meet with that person," he said.
Asheville Police Department attrition
2020 - 16 or 7% (14 resigned, two retired). Fifteen officers hired. Five are still with the force.
2021 - 79 or 32% (75 resigned, two retired.) Eighteen hired. Ten are still with the force.
2022 - 25 or 11% (25 resigned.) Twenty-five hired. Twenty are still with the force.
2023 - 20 or 8 % (14 resigned. Six retired.) Ten hired. Nine are still with the force.
Other key numbers:
On average, 22 officers have resigned or retired from the agency over the past two years.
Excluding 2021’s mass exodus, the average number of officers that left the agency is 17 per year.
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Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at [email protected], 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: With historic crime drop does Asheville need to fill police vacancies?