In 2023, Greensboro appears to be on track to break a record no one wanted to see broken – the total number of homicides in a year.
In 2020, Greensboro set a record with 62 homicides. So far, in a little less than seven months of 2023, Greensboro has had 42 homicides. If the second half of the year is anything like the first half, then 2023 will be another record setting year. In July 2020 the homicide count for Greensboro was 35.
In 2022, Greensboro had 41 homicides, so 2023 is already deadlier than 2022. The question is, how much deadlier.
In 2021, there were 53 homicides in Greensboro, which was down from 2020 but still the second highest total on record for Greensboro.
In 2020, when the record for homicides was set, the Greensboro Police Department (GPD) was short about 100 sworn officers. In the first half of 2023, the GPD was short about 130 sworn officers. But since the new fiscal year began on July 1, the GPD is only down about 90 officers.
It’s not that the GPD hired 40 new officers on July 1, but that Police Chief John Thompson agreed to give up 30 sworn positions and reclassify 10 positions so the number of authorized positions for sworn officers dropped from 689 to 649 and, voila – the GPD was short less than 100 sworn officers for the first time in years.
The Greensboro City Council did, finally, in the 2023-2024 fiscal year budget, take action to give the GPD some much needed help. The City Council requested that the starting salaries for police officers be raised to $57,000. However, City Manager Tai Jaiyeoba was adamant that the salaries only be raised to $55,000, and the majority of the City Council agreed. It is far more expensive than simply paying new recruits more, because salaries all the way up the line have to be increased so that new recruits are not being paid more than experienced officers, and so forth.
One of the other impediments to hiring new police officers is that the GPD, unlike other law enforcement agencies in the state, does not provide take-home cars for patrol officers. The City Council voted to provide 20 additional police cars a year for five years on Nov. 18, 2021, and on July 7, 2023, the first 10 of those take-home cars were actually provided to police officers.
I believe this city council has proven their desires to have little to do with or support this police department. Dollars continue to go to the usual pet projects of council members which keeps them and their family members employed. It seems the tax payer and citizens are content with this set up since they, council members, are consistently voted back into office. Looks like Greensboro may make it a record with the homicides to date. If council wishes to continue their no support of the police, the homicides will surely continue. You voted the bunch in. Maybe with the continuation of increased homicides, they will kill each other off and we regular citizens will not have to be as concerned for our safety, only how much more tax dollars will be wasted on the council’s pet projects.
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I was going to write something long, but you are absolutely right!! Neither the Council nor the idiot City Manager supports our Police and Fire Safety. After all, the NC Legislators want an oversight committee for Greensboro City Council in regard to just that issue. They can put all the street cafes, let you carry an alcoholic drink down the street, whatever they want. I will not and do not ever plan on going to downtown Greensboro day or night. Way too dangerous. I went to City Council 2 years ago to speak in favor of the great job our Police Force does every day. They put their life on the line. I got surrounded and harassed outside City Council room. Greensboro is not safe period. LETS GET PEOPLE TO VOTE NEXT YEAR….ONLY 12% last time. You did it to yourselves
Thanks for nothing City Council. People WAKE UP!!!! Due to lack of funds, and funds going to the wrong people and the complete disrespect of the police, you get what we have here in Greensboro.
Don’t forget City Voters – please be sure to keep ALL these incumbents on the Council! What a wonderful job they are doing! Can’t wait for more City Taxes to help One Step Further fix the. murder epidemic!
Little Portland. How much does Tai Jabberwocky make now, v/s last year?
Tommy explained it best:
https://youtu.be/Q1vXZKr2cAQ
With the above discussion about lack of police officers, its no wonder that crime/murders are up. I am so glad that the city is paying over $1,000,000 to an organization that one of our city council members owns to decrease violence in the city. Way to go city council and the completely incompetent city manager.
Man, oh man… that money we spent on “Cure Violence” sure is paying BIG dividends.
Dontcha just love non-profits !
The liberals started this ball rolling toward all of this violence a long, long time ago with their lax attitude toward law enforcement, lax attitude toward strict prosecution in court, lax attitude toward putting drug dealers in prison for a long time, lax attitude toward legislation calling for long sentences, weak judges refusing to put these criminals behind bars, weak bail bond laws, way too much plea bargaining, and the list goes on. You get the idea. Now they want to stand out on the street, hold up signs that say, “Stop the Violence” and they expect results? I don’t think so. Hello! It will be a LONG, LONG time before anything changes, if ever.
When are people going to wake up and realize that the city manager and Skip or only looking after there own interest. They always show a conflict of interest in the way that the money is spent from our budget. I think it should be a big no when there is a conflict of interest like the hiring of a company that was one of them owns to decrease crime in Greensboro. People need to also realize that there is a conflict of interest in the fact that skip got $200,000 for the Woolworth museum that he was co-founder of. People need to wake up and get these Jokers out of office.
At some point the onus is not on the GPD. Their resources are stretched thin. Nothing is an emergency for this council unless it involves turning down zoning for a church on Gate City Blvd for a neighborhood that I believe is in the county (Sedgefield). The raises won’t come for officers until September. When they give a raise to the city manager does he wait almost 3 months? They passed a vehicle plan that will take at minimum 5 years-it took almost a year to get the first ten into service. All 9 of the city council are a joke. I could go on and on but there is no point. I am sure all will be reelected.
But lets get the “trolley”, which is really a bus with a wrap, up and down Elm Street for a $1 million.
The incompetence of City Manager Tai Jaiyeoba is magnified, crime continue to climb each month. The incompetence of the City Council is worse than City Manager Tai Jaiyeoba. The ‘CHICKENS’ have given the key to the hen house to a fox.
What the city really needs is a plan for free Trolleys on every downtown street.
Whatever happened to the Payoff/Boondoggle “Cure the Violence” money? Clearly with such a proven track record of success, they need more $$$.
The only solution is at the ballot box. Off-year elections do not draw; and the faithful get time off for, and free bussing to, the polls.
All those who benefit financially from the local govts are gonna vote socialist.
BLOOD ON COUNCILS HANDS-AGAIN! When are you going to wake up and provide the means the police department requires to stop these senseless killings?? You de-funding the police has cost lives. When are the citizens in these effective areas going to say enough is enough?? To many turn their backs with a not my problem attitude.
How many more will die due to the ignorance of our city council and Mayor? Councilwoman Johnson and “cure for Violence” program sure is successful at “stealing” no wait, our city council provided this theft without accountability for the citizens of Greensboro.
do something about the drugs and u will fix the killing
Give every “thug “ in Greensboro between the age of 16-25 2 free guns and free ammo and a month from now the problem will be half solved
Can’t wait till one of city council ‘s family meets their demise by some crackhead with a pocket full of foodstamps.little new york.
One would think the solution is to vote for competent leaders. However, the voting rules have changed so that it favors the lazy, easily influenced, ignorant, and manipulated voters. Allowing weeks to cast a vote, little oversight of absentee voting, allowing college students unrestricted voting in local elections and provisional ballots are a few reasons why there are incompetent council members and county commissioners. The source of the problem needs to be fixed. Photo ID is a start. Paper ballots may be considered antiquated but if voters believe that voting integrity is crucial in elections, then paper ballots work best to assure that integrity. Returning to one day voting is necessary. Why would a politician favor weeks’ long voting? Because it favors the lazy, easily influenced, ignorant, and manipulated voters.
Recently the new police chief stated that the citizens should be more upset about the number of shootings and murders in GSO. What he doesn’t realize is that most people are so frustrated with our local leaders over crime that they have been burnt out over voicing concern. Because nothing has changed concerning crime over the past years that most people just realize it’s a waste of breath. And for some reason the same people get voted back into office!!?? The new Chief is fighting crime with one hand tied behind his back and it’s the people he reports too that has handcuffed him. I wonder how much longer it will take to get new leadership in GSO; my advice to the Chief is investigate some of the activities going on with council members would be a good place to start.
Hey big city. Greensboro is ahead of Durham what do you have to say now. Not only do we have the highest taxes, biggest deficits in our Police dept in the state andvthe highest murder rate this year. You have to be so proud