As far as the number of fully trained Greensboro police officers on the street, according to Greensboro Police Chief Brian James, it’s worse than what has previously been reported.
James gave a report on the new Greensboro Police Department Strategic Plan at the Greensboro City Council work session on Tuesday, March 23.
The report includes information about the new racial equity training, Integrating Communications Assessment and Tactics (ICAT) training, Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) and a plan to create a full-time community resource coordinator, as well as reports on the new Homeless Area Response Team, the Behavioral Health Response Team and other new initiatives of particular concern to the City Council.
The report also included the fact that in 2021 there have been 12 homicides, which is double the number there were at this time in 2020 – a year that set a record for homicides in Greensboro at 61. The previous record was set in 2019 at 45. At the current pace Greensboro is on track to have well over 100 homicides in 2021.
Not as part of the report but in answer to a question from Councilmember Justin Outling, James did go over the current staffing issues. He said that currently he is authorized to have 683 sworn officers and has 641, which is 42 short of being at full authorization. However, James added that when you subtracted out the officers currently enrolled in the Police Academy and those that recently graduated from the academy and are still in training, he said, “It’s essentially 611.”
James said that from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. the officers “are running from call to call to call.” He said he was currently back filling about 12 positions a day with overtime.
Outling asked for numbers on how the City Council could help with the overtime issue and that resulted in a long City Council discussion.
Mayor Nancy Vaughan finally said the City Council would authorize whatever overtime James believed was needed to make up for the shortage of trained sworn officers.
Both James and City Manager David Parrish said that the police staffing study was essentially complete, but that they both had a couple questions about it that needed to be answered before it would be ready to be brought to the City Council.
How gracious of our Mandate Mayor to approve overtime. Sky high murders and assaults and staffing problems? Look to our incumbent decades serving council members and Mandate Mayor. We have 100 million dollar empty and bleeding performance arts boondoggle but not enough sworn officers to properly partrol, investigate, or outreach. This show our elected officials priorities are with folks that have money in the burbs not folks that arent donors and live in high crime areas that have been neglected by officials and police for years. Just look at the crime map year after year and anyone can see the patterns….except to those that fund our police department.
What good is a staffing study when you cannot fill the positions you have now? Way to go local government! How about stopping the leaks before you try to refill the tub.
Greensboro would have plenty of money for law enforcement is they would quit giving out dollars to various community groups, many of which have direct ties to members of the City Council. “THAT” is what needs to be investigated. Wonder how much of the federal stimulus went to law enforcement, versus “feel good” organizations, bars, education, etc?
Looks like we need to spend some more on Cure The Violence.
Please make me King of Guilford County.
The majority of the council are like an ostrich they prefer to have their head in the sand or other places however you take that until they get kicked in their behind
Perhaps, as I have heard, they are leaving because they simply can’t work for this yahoo?
3 1/2 months ago – December 7, 2020 – the City Council met and promised to actively seek a solution to the murder problem in Greensboro. At that time, the city was well over a record breaking murder year. Fast forward to March 23, 2021. The City Council finally got around to talking about the problems with the Chief of Police. Seems that the boots on the street are short by 72 officers currently. GPD is harnessed by having many officers working double shifts due to understaffing. Overworked officers equals mistakes, or in some cases missed enforcement. Rather than address the issue in January, or February, the Mayor has kept this subject off of the agenda until pressured by a great many constituents who are concerned over their safety in a city once proudly proclaiming that it was a safe place for anyone to travel anywhere in the city. Now, there are assaults in the lower class neighborhoods as well as in the upper class neighborhoods. GPD has been pleading for help for years. This is not something that happened overnight but the pleas have fallen on deaf ears at the center of the dias. More money is needed for arts. Let the crime sit on the back burner for a while. With record assaults and murders, it has now come back to haunt Mayor Vaughan. I can only hope that the new budget will put some of the items that are enjoyed by only a very small percentage of the citizens on the back burner, and the safety of the citizens will be on the front burner. Carrying a weapon all the time while in the Boro is not pleasurable, but has become necessary.
Too little, too late! We’ve all been shouting it from the rooftops forever & a day now and what’s this? You mean we were right all along? Who would have thunk it? While the council was sugar coating the story and letting thugs loot & riot all summer and murders were rampant the Chief was begging for your help. It’s too bad he has to go through these goons to get what he needs. Libtard policies are why your city is in ruins. Hey, we don’t have adequate police protection to keep the city safe, but we have two departments dedicated to recruiting transgendered leprechauns and unicorns and making sure they all feel good. That’s one helluva legacy for this council. Something we should really be proud of for sure!
How can anyone with a brain think that “cure the violence” is working or helping. The money should be directed to where it would do some good and that is the police department that has the authority to help control crime the right way by arrest for wrong actions instead of paying a criminal for crimes that they commit. The City Council is responsible for ALL of increase of criminal behavior that is taking over our city. Without immediate action we are ALL in danger. Why are these women being allowed to keep destroying OUR city?
There is one woman on the council that would disagree with you. The one getting the $900,000 that so far I haven’t seen any records of how that money is/was being spent. And seems to be a complete failure JUST LIKE IT HAS EVERY WHERE IS HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED. Echo your cry,,, Why are these women allowed to keep destroying our city?
It’s the votes they get in their district Mac. And the lady you refer to for getting $900,000 might happen to be named Yvonne?
It would be nice if there was a prohibition on council members from receiving any money from the Council, whether it be direct, or indirect, to the agencies that they, and/or, members of their families are employed. I just wonder how much money is paid to the council members for being on various community non-profits. There’s even a new citizen running for a council seat that gets funds from the council.
The Rhino needs to do some investigative journalism on the current council and how City funds (or grants, etc.) are funneled back to the members of the Council, and/or their relatives, through these various “non-profits”.
Agreed that murders are a huge problem but
John this is the second recent article with some funky math. I disagree that we are on pace for well over 100 murders. First quarter is almost over, so if we can finish March with 12 that puts us on pace for 48. I think you are
instead comparing our pace this year with the pace of q1 2020, and then assuming this year will escalate like 2020 did, which is a bad idea because things really ramped up in 2020 after all the lockdowns started, with their “unintended” effects.
I would say that looking at the numbers it may be worse. 2020 started with a triple homicide on Jan. 1 which means from Jan.2 to March 23 there were three homicides. In 2021 from Jan. 2 to March 23 there have been 12 homicides. Studies show that there are typically fewer homicides during the winter and more during the warmer months of the year.
Look at protective mama bear not addressing the reader’s point! Maybe you should run for office!
The point is that you cannot assume a linear progression. Murders are not evenly spread over the year. They spike in the summer. So you would not say there were 10 in 3 months so we will have 40 in 12 months.
You should look at how far ahead we are percentage wise for the quarter and then apply that percentage to the yearly projected number So if we are up 20% for the quarter compared to last year, we might expect to be up 20% for the year if nothing alters the trend.
Going deeper, you should look at multi year trends to help model the current year. We set a record in 2019, a record in 2020 and are ahead of schedule for 2021 to set a new record. So in no way is it unreasonable to extrapolate 80 to 100 homicides for 2021.
#Mathisfun!
#Namestarnolikemath
Absolutely , the really rough time is approaching .
Well, at least they’re still getting their racial equity training! I wonder how many of the long time officers are actually afraid to do their job, for fear of being prosecuted, just because a perpetrator is a little too dark? Instead, they’re just biding their time until they can retire and get their pension.
When you start punishing and scaring the police for doing their job, this is what you get.
The citizens of Greensboro need to wake up and replace these losers on the council, starting with Mayor Nancy. NOTHING has improved since she’s been mayor, and it never will. They’re supposed to do what’s best for the citizens of their districts and the city as a whole, but they only do what’s best for them.
John being John:
“ At the current pace Greensboro is on track to have well over 100 homicides in 2021.”
Do the math – we’re on track to see 52 homicides this year. It’s a simple problem of proportions.
Okay okay, so maybe murder rates time series data exhibit some seasonality, but do you really think John is using any kind of complex or accurate model to make up his article? Nope.
Okay, when Toby & Tyrone go wild this summer & into the holiday seasons, we’ll see if those numbers hold. They’re going to be off the charts between July & December
I’d be willing to be that this comment won’t age well…
Sounds like Greensboro should follow Randolph County’s example. They had a shooting on Sunday, a thug motivated disturbance at the hospital & a retaliatory shooting on Monday. They didn’t throw money at it & blame the Police. The NAACP is holding a community meeting with the expectations being “the community” should step up and put a stop to this crap.