“All of the above shows me there’s plenty of crime going on in Asheville, and in certain crime criteria, it’s escalating.”
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“All of the above shows me there’s plenty of crime going on in Asheville, and in certain crime criteria, it’s escalating.”
Xpress readers engaged with a wide range of local issues in 2023 — from concerns about downtown Asheville to infrastructure priorities, a possible single-use plastic bag ban, education issues and more.
“We can’t fight crime without a strong police force. That should be Council’s No. 1 priority. “
“The thought of being identified will send most of the homeless packing.”
“Many local Ashevilleans complain about tourists because they don’t understand that the revenue they bring affects their daily lives in a positive way.”
“The purpose of this letter is … to motivate city/county residents to question the priorities of the APD and the DA in these times of staff shortages and increased serious crime, along with the dire situation of homelessness in Asheville.”
“Yes, get them housed and cared for and consider that as ‘time served.’ Stop the revolving door.”
A core group of people are responsible for a disproportionate amount of crimes in and around downtown and the cycle continues because local and state governments have failed to adequately invest in treatment, housing and alternatives to arrest.
“We feel it is a conflict of interest for one city entity to sponsor a station that promotes a ‘weekly anarchist show’ with what appears to be a very anti-police agenda.”
“It has become a place where local people cannot afford to live and many of us no longer want to visit.”
“Hire 40% more policemen, pay them a salary so they can live in Asheville and put them where they are needed the most — downtown Asheville.”
“We all know the priorities, and they are past needing to be dealt with.”
“How could things have gotten this bad without intervention? How quickly will this situation of fear and crime be turned around?”
“Like many who depend on Asheville and business owners to keep their doors open, I want to continue to support local businesses. At the same time, who wants to risk danger to meet basic needs?”
“Today, Asheville’s a tourist destination fueled by wealth-take-all capitalism beset with growing urban issues such as parking, pollution, land use, development, affordable housing, crime and allocation of tax revenues. Yet are all these intractable problems with only temporary solutions? Not really.”
“I’ve also noticed the same complaints year in and year out — high cost of living, low-paying jobs, lack of good jobs, homelessness, etc. And yet, for some reason I can’t begin to fathom, the same people and the same party keep getting reelected.”
“Asheville has a violent gun problem now. People shot every week.”
“Given these facts, do you feel Asheville city leaders should reconsider defunding the police?”
Security, crime and justice took center stage during a Council of Independent Business Owners breakfast April 1. The Asheville-based trade group’s meeting served as a forum for the three Democratic Buncombe County district attorney candidates: current DA Todd Williams, prosecutor and former Assistant DA Doug Edwards and assistant public defender Courtney Booth. (Attorney Joe Bowman […]
“So for local businesses, pay your workers more and within a couple of weeks, ‘crime’ will start to decline.”