Triad City Beat | Gun violence spiked in the Triad this weekend, but data shows violent crime is on the decline

Within 24 hours, Triad cities were hit by gun violence that left three people seriously injured and two dead.

In Greensboro, a shooting occurred around 1:20 a.m. Friday at Culture Lounge off Spring Garden Street, killing 33-year-old Mohsin Malik Hamid and 28-year-old Devonte Bernard Johnson. Two men died. Fox 8 reports that two men were pronounced dead at the scene from the gunshot wounds, and a woman was also shot and rushed to the hospital.

However, despite the tragic deaths, data collected by the cities of Greensboro and Winston-Salem shows that violent crimes, including homicides, are on the decline. And it reflects a national trend.

This year, through March 3, there were 182 aggravated assaults and seven homicides with firearms, according to data collected by Greensboro police. This reflects a 36 percent decrease in gun homicides compared to this time last year, but a 27 percent increase in assaults.

Still, the department's total number of violent crimes has declined since 2020, according to GPD's FBI data, which tracks violent crimes per 100,000 residents.

In High Point, officers were called to the 400 block of Vail Avenue for a shooting that occurred around 6:15 Friday night. The person who was shot suffered serious injuries, but police say their injuries do not appear to be life-threatening, according to WXII News 12. The High Point Police Department doesn't publish crime data online, but it doesn't publish the data it sends to the FBI. It has been shown that violent crime has decreased significantly over the past few years.

In 2019, HPD reported 830 violent crimes per 100,000 residents in the city. In 2020 and 2021, the numbers decreased to 786 and 603, respectively. The department recorded 626 violent crimes in 2022, a slight increase from the previous year.

About 30 minutes after the shooting in High Point, Winston-Salem police officers were called to the 3200 block of Fleet Street after a man was shot multiple times while walking near a park. Ramel Hoosier, 27, suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his torso, legs and hands, according to news reports. Hoosier underwent emergency surgery and police say he is currently in stable condition. His injuries were not expected to be life-threatening, according to ABC 45.

According to data from the Winston-Salem Police Department, there have been three murders and 283 aggravated assaults through February of this year. This is a decrease compared to both 2023 and 2022, when homicide and aggravated assault rates were much higher by this time.

According to FBI data, violent crime increased slightly from 2021 to 2022, but the number was still lower than in 2020.

Despite the widespread belief that crime is on the rise across the country, the numbers actually show that crime is on the decline. Comparing 2021 to 2022, he said, crime is down over the past few years and down from the peak of the pandemic, when violent crime was spiking. The numbers show that violent crime rates are nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, including rates of homicide and aggravated assault, according to FBI data.

And this trend continued into 2023. According to data collected and analyzed by crime analyst and co-founder of AH Datalytics, Jeff Asher, from 2022 to 2023, homicides decreased by 11.8%.

“If we look at the national picture, we see that homicides are down. Data from more than 200 cities shows a 12.2 percent decrease in 2023 compared to 2022. '' Asher told NPR.

Police departments across the country have increased their budgets in recent years, even though the number of violent crimes has declined. According to an ABC News report that analyzed the budgets of more than 100 cities and counties, 83% of municipalities increased police spending by at least 2% in 2022 compared to 2019.

And that is reflected in the triad.

In Guilford County, the 2023-24 budget increased spending on the sheriff's office by about 8% compared to 2022-23. In Forsyth County, the sheriff's office budget decreased by $528,388.

Both Greensboro and Winston-Salem saw increases in their police department budgets compared to last year.

So, does more spending on law enforcement reduce crime?

According to Canadian researchers, there is no direct correlation or cause-and-effect relationship.

“We didn't see a consistent correlation between crime rates and police funding,” Melanie Seabrook, a researcher at the MAP Center for Urban Health Solutions and lead author of the paper, told the newspaper. new york times.

Of course, how police spend the money they earn is part of the question that remains unanswered. Both Greensboro and Winston-Salem police departments are working to increase staffing and operationalization of alternative and joint response teams to reduce police violence that disproportionately impacts communities of color.

And last year, the state Legislature passed a law allowing private citizens to investigate traffic accidents. Investigators do not have the power to make arrests or file criminal proceedings. The idea is that this will allow police to investigate violent and serious crimes rather than routine traffic problems.

The move is seen as a continuation of alternative police ideology.

“The use of non-law enforcement personnel to respond to calls for service is not new practice,” the UNC School of Government post said. “As we found in our Alternative Responders Project, many jurisdictions in North Carolina already utilize non-law enforcement personnel to provide services related to social issues such as homelessness, mental health, and substance use crises. “Nor is there a new concept of limiting law enforcement involvement in administrative transportation issues.” As Emily Roscoe, a law and policy fellow at the school, summarizes here, N.C. and jurisdictions across the United States have made legal and policy changes that limit law enforcement involvement in traffic violations. ”