Mondays are tough, and Monday, Aug. 21 was a particularly bad day for Greensboro.
The Greensboro Police Department on Monday added two homicides to the list for 2023, raising total this year to 48.
With over four months left in the year, 2023 is on track to be the most deadly year in the history of Greensboro.
The current record for homicides was set in 2020 when there were 62 homicides, but the first half of 2023 exceeds the totals for 2020.
In 2022, the city recorded 41 homicides. So in eight months Greensboro has already far surpassed the total number of homicides last year.
In the first half of the year, the GPD was short about 130 sworn officers from the authorized force of 689. But through the magic of the budgeting process, on July 1, the number of vacancies in the GPD dropped to about 90. It’s not that any new officers were hired, but the number of authorized sworn officers was reduced by 30, and 10 positions previously held by sworn officers were reclassified to unsworn positions. So, while it looks much better on the books, on the ground nothing changed.
The 2023-2024 budget did raise police starting salaries from $44,500 to $55,000. That raise doesn’t go into effect until September, but it does mean that in September Greensboro police officers will receive a considerable raise in line with the increase in starting salaries.
Greensboro is also very slowly increasing the number of take-home police cars for patrol officers. The competing jurisdictions already provide take-home police cars for patrol officers, which made the Greensboro Police Department an outlier in this category.
About 100 additional police cars were needed to provide take-home cars for patrol officers, and in Nov. 2021 the Greensboro City Council voted to provide 20 additional cars a year, for five years. However, it was not until July 7, 2023, that the first 10 of those take-home cars were provided to police officers.
“It’s deja vu all over again.” Little Portland will expand it’s reach until we really have police protection. A full staff, with felony prosecutions and jail time.
Homicides in Greensboro just continue to escalate. I believe most all of those killed on our Greensboro roadways should also be considered homicide’s! That is because Nancy and Taiwo decided years ago not to effectively enforce traffic laws, improper equipment laws, illegal dirt bikes and ATVs on the street laws, gun laws, street racing laws, burnout laws, and drug laws! In fact, I believe Nancy and Taiwo should be charged with a homicide for each life lost as a result of this foolishness! “Nancy and Taiwo have Got to Go!”
Jim Donaldson
Tell me how effective is the Cure for Violence program? The money you GAVE councilwoman Johnson should have been provided to our police department.
City council and city manager (TJ) still think defunding the police is a good idea? City Manager (TJ), Wells, Hightower, Holston, Johnson all have blood on their hands with their anti-police prejudice. The people in your districts are asking for help and you turn your backs on them, shame on you. How many lives could have been saved if you supported our police department? How many more will lose their lives due to your ignorance ? The attitude of it does not effect me or my family, well one day , hopefully not, it may . Then it is to late. Start supporting our police department and especially the citizens that unfortunately elected you. They need you to step up and help protect them.
Guess council may figure out that you reap what you sew. Maybe.
On Nancy and Taiwo’s manipulations of the number of sworn Greensboro Police Officer’s on duty. How can anyone trust these individuals to effectively run our city? They both are a complete embarrassment to us all! And as they often say “Liars figure, and figures lie”!
Jim Donaldson
The city will fund a trolley but not the police department??? Starting pay should be at 65K.
Where is the local office of Cure for Violence located? Anyone know? As far as defunding the police, the people who need the police the most are the ones being hurt. Nothing more to be said.
The council members that whine the most about police and have underfunded salaries and not provided take home cars must not look at the demographics of the murder victims. Young, black males. They don’t care about them or how they got in a situation to be murdered.
Why not ask Black Lives Matter to fund the cure violence program. They have gotten over 10 million in a couple years and have done nothing to help the situation. Ms. Johnson please give back the taxpayers money. You’re nothing but a bottom feeding scam artist
I have a great idea to solve this problem let’s spend some more money on painting black lives matter on a few more streets downtown it really seems to make a difference on the black on black murder problem. Everyone please call our council members ( their cell numbers can be found on the internet) and express your desire to help solve this problem
Also on the internet (& public records) are their residence locations. I am not suggesting that you pay them a visit. I am suggesting a possible solution to the loose leaf collection program.
That’s an awesome idea. Then a few citizens dropping off a few brown bags of leaves a couple times a week will make a great point
Now, Will. You know I didn’t actually say that……
I know you didn’t say that. I’m just suggesting that the citizens can regift their leaves to the council members and share the love
fewer murderers would act if they knew the police dept was adequately staffed & ready to respond promptly after their voluntary, drug fuelled acts.
Watch….before the police, all the Council members within a few years will get a vehicle stipend of $3-4k per year — the depreciated cost of a leased vehicle….makes sense ?
BLACK GANG violence and ignorant Mayor and City Council, A felon Sheriff and a Race based understaffed , underfunded Police Department.
Really, any mystery here?
gated communities (barios) will be necessary for ‘group’ safety. the ‘wealthy’ know this & have it. their ‘dedicated’ private ‘security’ ‘fire’ ‘event’ force IS the residents. any ‘outside’ individual or group meet THEM @ gates. security camera feeds available to all residents at all times via ‘screens’. archived. why shouldn’t ‘birds of a feather flock together’ if they aren’t nazis ?
Is everyone forgetting the POSSIBLE use of the facility the Lords and Ladies of GSO took over?